Families of Parkland massacre victims rip jury for rejecting death penalty: 'You set a precedent for the next mass killing'

• Families of those murdered in the Parkland high school massacre ripped a jury for rejecting the death penalty for the gunman.
• "You set a precedent for the next mass killing," one grieving dad said of the 12 jurors.

Outraged families of those murdered in the 2018 Parkland high school massacre slammed a jury on Thursday for rejecting the death penalty for the shooter, who they repeatedly called a "monster" and "animal."

Lori Alhadeff and her husband, Ilan Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter, Alyssa, was among the 17 killed in the February 14, 2018, shooting at Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, told reporters after the verdict was read that they were "disgusted" by the jury's recommendation for life in prison without parole for the gunman.

"I am disgusted with our legal system. I am disgusted with those jurors. I am disgusted with this system that you can allow 17 dead and 17 others shot and wounded and not give the death penalty," Ilan Alhadeff said.

"You set a precedent for the next mass killing," the grieving dad said of the 12 jurors, saying their recommendation was "a stain on this world."

"I pray that that animal suffers every day of his life in jail and he should have a short life," he said of the gunman.

Lori Alhadeff echoed her husband's remarks, saying that the couple was "beyond disappointed with the outcome today."

"This should have been the death penalty 100%," she said. "I do not understand this. I just don't understand this."

Michael Schulman whose 35-year-old geography teacher son, Scott Beigel, was killed in the shooting, also slammed the verdict.

"This animal deserves to die, he hunted all these people," Schulman told reporters of the 24-year-old gunman who pleaded guilty last year to killing 14 students and three staff members. "He planned this months."

Beigel's mother, Linda Schulman, called the case of the gunman the "most perfect death penalty case" as she questioned how the jury could reject the death penalty.

"There is no doubt about the fact that the verdict should have been the death penalty," Linda Schulman said, adding that prosecutors "could have not proven their case any better than they did."

Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter, Jamie, was also killed in the massacre, told reporters that he was "stunned" and "devastated" that the 17 victims of the mass shooting "did not receive justice today."

"I think anyone planning a shooting right now sees that there is a path to avoid the death penalty where it does exist," Guttenberg said.

The father said he "could not be more disappointed in what happened today."

Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina was murdered in the shooting, called the jury's verdict "a gut punch for so many of us."

"The monster that killed them gets to live another day," Montalto said.

The jury in the case announced their decision on Thursday morning after a three-month-long trial that saw heartbreaking testimony from survivors and family members of the victims.

As each verdict was read out on by the judge, family members in the courtroom could be seen shaking their heads in disgust that the jury was not recommending the death sentence.

All jurors would have needed to be in agreement to recommend the death penalty for the gunman.