The family that took Nikolas Cruz in following his mother's death spoke to Florida's Sun Sentinel.

The paper published a story on Sunday about the family, who said that what Cruz did baffles them.

They made Cruz buy a locking gun safe to put in his room the day he moved in.

Cruz had a handful of guns, including the AR-15 and two other rifles that James Snead said would be considered assault rifles. Cruz, a hunter, also had knives, BB guns and pellet guns.

Snead thought he had the only key to the cabinet but has figured out Cruz must have kept a key for himself. The family kept their own rifles, bought after a burglary a couple of years ago, in a separate locked cabinet.

They told Cruz he needed to ask permission to take out the guns. He had asked only twice since November. They said "yes" once and "no" once.

Cruz's school records also reveal a child that had problems since middle school.

According to records obtained on Sunday from the state Department of Children and Families, when Cruz was a student at Westglades Middle School, he was constantly in trouble for insulting teachers and staff, using profanity, disruptive behaviour, unexcused absences and at least one fight.

His mother was called in more than a dozen times for conferences and Cruz was frequently sent to counselling.

Cruz is facing 17 counts of murder in the Wednesday afternoon shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

Australian Associated Press