Authorities say a teenager in Indianapolis inspired by The Purge films went on a killing spree, taking the lives of three people. The Purge revolves around an annual event by the same name in which all crime is legal for 12 hours.
The teenager accused of killing three people in four days is 19-year-old Jonathan Cruz. Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said the killings "appeared to be 100 percent random," according the New York Daily News.
"Just when you think you can't experience anything more inexplicable and shocking, as we frequently do, you are then confronted with circumstances that almost leave you at a loss for words," Curry said.
Before his May 16 arrest, Cruz is said to have fatally shot Billy Boyd and Jay Higginbotham on May 12. He also allegedly murdered Jose Ruiz three days later and was also accused of an armed robbery on May 14. Boyd and Higginbotham's bodies were found hours apart from each other both with multiple gunshot wounds.
Cruz was arrested after a May 14 confrontation with a teenage girl at Wendy's. The Indianapolis Star reports Cruz threatened the girl with a gun and refused to let her leave. Cruz allegedly followed the girl to her apartment and tried to show her video of him killing Higginbotham.
A May 2 text message from Cruz said, "I Purge every night now," according to the authorities. Police also found photos abd videos of Cruz handling weapons.
Cruz's mother texted him asking what he was doing right after the murders of Boyd and Higginbotham. According to the Indianapolis Star, Cruz responded by sending her a screenshot of an article about the two murders telling her "Delete those after u read it." The Indianapolis Starsaid Cruz's mother replied, "Do u know they can still pull up deleted history," to which he replied, "Yep Ima get a new phone soon say mine was stolen."
Cruz faces three murder counts and other felonies.
The Purge was released in 2013 and its sequel The Purge: Anarchy in 2014. The third installment The Purge: Election Year is coming to theaters July 1, ahead of November's presidential election.
