Nicholas Cruz, the 2018 high school shooter in Parkland, Florida, pleaded guilty Wednesday.
The 23-year-old accused killed 17 people, during a random shooting, in his secondary school.
After this confession, a jury will consider whether he will be executed, or imprisoned for life.
As soon as he pronounced his guilty plea, relatives of the victims who attended the trial, by video link, broke down in tears as Cruz made his pleas and apologized for his crimes, the Associated Press reported.
"Today we saw a cold-blooded killer who confessed to killing my daughter Gina and 16 other innocent victims at their school," said Tony Montalto.
Tony's 14-year-old daughter, who was shot by the killer, was sitting outside her classroom.
"These admissions of guilt are only the first step in the judicial process, but there is no change for my family, our bright and beautiful daughter, Gina, has died, while her killer is still enjoying life in prison."
style="font-family: verdana;">Cruz's confessions will pave the way for a trial in which 12 jurors will decide whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison without parole.
Circuit judge Elizabeth Shearer plans to vet the names of thousands of potential jurors, while the panel's selection is set to begin on January 4.
Cruz insisted on his pleas, after answering a long list of questions from Shearer aimed at confirming his mental competence.
Cruz is charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted first-degree murder at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland outside Fort Lauderdale.
On February 14, 2018, on Valentine's Day, 19-year-old Nicholas Cruz opened fire at the school, killing 17 people (14 students and 3 adult staff) before he was arrested.
Cruz had been expelled from school a year earlier for "disciplinary reasons" and had been able to legally purchase a semi-automatic submachine gun, despite his record of psychological problems.
On the third anniversary of the incident, last February, US President Joe Biden called on Congress to act "immediately" to reduce the circulation of firearms in the country.
"This administration is not going to wait for the next mass shooting" to act, Biden said.
"Today I am calling on Congress to enact proper gun reforms," he added, calling for a review of buyer records "in all sales" and a ban on submachine guns and high-capacity ammunition chargers.
And Joe Biden said, "We must put an end to the impunity of arms manufacturers who knowingly place weapons of war on our streets."
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