More funerals were held Saturday - for victims of this week's mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. As the community struggles to come to grips with 17 innocent lives lost, many are calling for greater gun control. And there are yet more signs emerging - of the gunman's ominous past. CGTN's Nitza Soledad Perez has more.

New glimpses into the mind of a troubled young man. CNN is reporting that gunman Nikolas Cruz was a regular contributor to private Instagram chats, fixated with race, violence, and guns, well before killing 17 people this week at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

He reportedly wrote "I hate Jews," used an offensive term for blacks, and said he hated immigrants. He also talked about killing Mexicans and gays, keeping black people in chains and cutting their necks, according to CNN.

Meanwhile, local Florida reports say the state investigated Cruz in the fall of 2016 after he cut both of his arms on Snapchat. He reportedly told child welfare agents then that he planned to buy a gun, but they found him to be stable. This, following revelations that local and federal law enforcement had received many warnings about Cruz.

SHERIFF SCOTT ISRAEL BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA "We have uncovered at the Broward Sheriff's Office that we've had approximately 20 calls for service over the last few years regarding the killer."

Vice President Mike Pence has ordered an investigation into the FBI's admitted failure to follow up on a very specific tip from someone close to Cruz back in January.

MIKE PENCE US VICE PRESIDENT "We will get to the bottom of what happened here. And as we speak the Justice Department is already working with agencies across our government to study the intersection of mental health and criminality. And when President Trump meets with our nation's governors in just a few short weeks, he will make the safety of our nation's schools our top administration priority."  

President Donald Trump and wife Melania met Friday night with hospitalized victims of the shooter and had praise for first responders. Afterwards, he ignored reporters' questions about gun control.

Saturday afternoon, the issue of gun control was at the center of a rally held in Fort Lauderdale. Student survivors of the Parkland shooting were among those demanding government action.

EMMA GONZALEZ, STUDENT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL "How about we stop blaming the victims for something that was the shooter's fault. The fault of the people who let him buy the guns in the first place. Those at the gun shows. The people who encouraged him to buy accessories to make them fully automatic."

CAMERON KASKY, STUDENT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL "There are people from both sides who are saying, enough of these guns and it's not about that anymore. This is about painting a badge of shame to put on anybody who has accepted money from the NRA."

Cruz is next due in court Monday. His attorneys now say their goal is not to prove their client innocent, but rather to spare him a death penalty. Nitza Soledad Perez, CGTN, Miami, Florida.