Nikolas Cruz, who has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, was expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2017 for what the local sheriff called “disciplinary reasons.” Some reports say he was kicked out for carrying a knife to school. Other reports say he was expelled after he got into a fight with the new boyfriend of an ex.

The students who spoke to BuzzFeed News — Dana Craig, 16; her boyfriend, Matthew Rosario, 16; and Enea Sabadini, 17 — said that such a fight happened, and that it was the culmination of a jealous and angry period for Cruz because Enea began dating Cruz’s ex-girlfriend. Three other friends who asked BuzzFeed News not to use their names, for privacy reasons, confirmed their accounts.

“Im going to watch ypu bleed,” read an Instagram message sent under Cruz’s name to Enea in 2017, when students said Cruz was no longer at the school. “iam going to shoot you dead.” Another message said Enea “stole my ex.”