On Monday, a white man who gunned down 17 people at his former high school in Florida went on trial in the southern region of the state, facing either the death penalty or a life sentence. 

In 2018, Nikolas Cruz, with an AR-15 assault rifle, killed 17 students and staff members at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day.

Cruz has pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder regarding those who were wounded in the massacre. Cruz was 19 at the time of the shooting. 

The trial, which will take place in Fort Lauderdale, South Florida, constitutes a rare instance where a mass shooter faces a jury. Mass shooters, many times, would either commit suicide after the crime or are killed by the police on the scene. Cruz is being held until his sentence is determined. 

For a death penalty to be sentenced, the jury must agree on a unanimous decision; otherwise, Cruz will be handed life sans parole. 

Survivors and families of victims of the Parkland school shooting have mobilized and founded "March for our Lives," which exerts efforts to organize protests and pressure lawmakers to pass tougher gun laws in the country. A recent rally in June saw thousands participate in nationwide protests across the United States, amounting to 450 marches. In 2018, hundreds of thousands marched in Washington DC against gun violence, also organized by MOFL. 

Last month's protest came after a Texas shooting that claimed the lives of 19 young children and 2 teachers, and another supermarket shooting in New York which killed 10 Black people. 

According to the Gun Violence Archive, this year, gun violence has claimed the lives of more than 19,300 people in the United States.

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