James Snead, who permitted Nikolas Cruz to live with his family for about three months, said he had no idea how troubled the suspected high school shooter was, but defended the teenager's right to own guns.
Snead's comments came in an Tuesday interview on "CBS This Morning."
Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder after a shooting spree at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Snead and his wife Kimberly, let Cruz who is a friend of their son, move in their house after his mother passed away in November, CBS News noted.
"The Nik we knew was not the Nik that everybody else seemed to know," James Snead said.
And his wife added: "He pulled one over on us — as well as a lot of people."
CBS News correspondent John Blackstone asked how many guns Cruz had.
"I knew he had five or six," James Snead said. "I didn't know what kind they were. It didn't matter what kind of guns they were. I have guns. I respect guns as long as they're handled properly, safely. And one of the stipulations before moving in was to have a gun safe before he moved in."
But Snead said he knew Cruz had an AR-15.
"I knew he had (an) assault rifle, but I knew he used it out hunting," Snead said.
Asked by Blackstone if he thought it was okay for a 19-year-old to have an AR-15, Snead replied: "It's his right to have it."
And Snead maintained his feelings have not changed since the high school murders.
But he added: "We feel heartfelt sorrow for the families involved. As far as being responsible, we worked that out and there was nothing different we would have done."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.