The FBI in January received a tip to a public reporting line that Nikolas Cruz might carry out a school shooting, but failed to pass the information to its Miami field office or investigate any further, authorities said yesterday.
The bureau acknowledged the startling lapse in a statement, saying a person close to Cruz had contacted the bureau's public access tip line on January 5 and "provided information about Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behaviour, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting." Cruz is accused of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday.
The bureau said the information "should have been assessed as a potential threat to life" and passed to the Miami field office, but was not, and "no further investigation was conducted at that time."
"We are still investigating the facts," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. "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. 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.
"We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy," he added. "All of the men and women of the FBI are dedicated to keeping the American people safe, and are relentlessly committed to improving all that we do and how we do it."
