Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year old shooter identified in today’s Parkland, Florida mass shooting came prepared to do maximum damage.

The number of victims from Monday’s horrific shooting is holding at 17, and Florida Senator Bill Nelson has revealed new details.

“He wore a gas mask and smoke grenades. He set off the fire alarm so the kids would come out into the hallways. And thus, he had the opportunity with a crowded hallway to start picking off people,” Nelson told MSNBC.

Cruz was a former student of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and had, at one point, been expelled.

Some of the stories coming out from students and teachers are that Cruz was a discipline problem, who seemed preoccupied with guns, and was known to have guns at home.

And no, none of that is reason for the knee-jerk rush to call for gun control.

It is time to talk about soft targets.

What do all of these shootings have in common? The shooter is in no danger of being stopped by someone trained and armed on site.

We’ll be having these conversations for the next several weeks, but for now, just pray for the families and community affected by this.

"He wore a gas mask and smoke grenades. He set off the fire alarms so the kids would come out in the hallways. And thus, he had the opportunity with the crowded hallways to start picking off people." @SenBillNelson on the Florida school shooting suspect. #Hardball pic.twitter.com/wtL0rmV9Wp

— Hardball (@hardball) February 15, 2018