FBI Got Tip On Accused Parkland School Shooter In January

MIAMI, FL — The FBI acknowledged on Friday the agency received a tip about accused Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz on Jan. 5 but failed to follow "established protocols." The tip came from a person close to Cruz. Reacting to the news, Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for the resignation of FBI Director Christopher Wray, who apologized.

"Under established protocols, the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life," the FBI said in a statement released Friday. "The information then should have been forwarded to the FBI Miami Field Office, where appropriate investigative steps would have been taken."

The FBI said that the tip was received on the FBI’s Public Access Line (PAL) tipline.

"The caller provided information about Cruz’s gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting," the FBI said.

"We have determined that these protocols were not followed for the information received by the PAL on Jan. 5," according to the agency. "The information was not provided to the Miami Field Office, and no further investigation was conducted at that time."

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Wray said that the agency "deeply" regrets the additional pain the admission causes the families of the 17 students and others who were gunned down on Wednesday.

“We are still investigating the facts. I am committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in this particular matter, as well as reviewing our processes for responding to information that we receive from the public," the director said. "It’s up to all Americans to be vigilant, and when members of the public contact us with concerns, we must act properly and quickly."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the shooting was a “tragic consequence” of the FBI’s missteps and ordered a review of the Justice Department’s processes. He said it’s now clear that the nation’s premier law enforcement agency missed warning signs.

The Florida governor said that the agency's failure to take action against the accused killer is "unacceptable" and that an apology doesn't cut it.

“An apology will never bring these 17 Floridians back to life or comfort the families who are in pain," Scott said. "The families will spend a lifetime wondering how this could happen, and an apology will never give them the answers they desperately need."

FBI Miami Field Office Special Agent In Charge Robert Lasky also apologized on behalf of his 1,000 employees.

"The men and women who work in the Miami field office are part of this community," he said. "Our children attend the same schools, to include Stoneman Douglas. We worship at the same places. We are part of this community. As this community hurts, so do we."

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called for the House and Senate to begin immediate investigations into the matter. He said that the lapse in protocols was "inexcusable."

Scott, a Republican and close friend of President Trump, noted that law enforcement officials rely on tips from the public.

“We constantly promote ‘see something, say something,’ and a courageous person did just that to the FBI," Scott said. "And the FBI failed to act. ‘See something, say something’ is an incredibly important tool and people must have confidence in the follow through from law enforcement. The FBI director needs to resign.”

In September, the FBI was alerted to a disturbing comment on a YouTube video by a user named Nikolas Cruz. The creator of the video, Mississippi bail bondsman Ben Bennight, sent a screenshot of the comment — "I'm going to be a professional school shooter" — to the FBI, and agents interviewed him again Wednesday, BuzzFeed reported. YouTube removed the comment.

Lasky said at a press conference Thursday that agents are investigating. “In September 2017, the FBI received information about a comment made on a YouTube channel. The comment said, ‘I’m going to be a professional school shooter,’” he said. “No other information was included in the comment which would indicate a particular time, location, or the true identity of the person who posted the comment. The FBI conducted database reviews and other checks, but was unable to further identify the person who posted the comment.”

Photo by Paul Scicchitano