Advertisement
This Article is From Feb 16, 2018

FBI Warned About Florida Gunman But Failed To Act

The information about Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior was not handled appropriately by the FBI and no action was taken.

FBI Warned About Florida Gunman But Failed To Act
Nikolas Cruz, 19, had a fascination with guns. He owned an AR-15 assault-style rifle.
Washington, United States: The FBI said Friday that it received a detailed warning last month that Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz was a danger but that it failed to act.

"On January 5, 2018, a person close to Nikolas Cruz contacted the FBI's Public Access Line tipline to report concerns about him," the FBI said in a statement.

"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," it said.

The information was not handled appropriately, however, the top US law enforcement agency said, and no action was taken.

Cruz, 19, shot dead 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday using an AR-15-style rifle that he had legally purchased.

Cruz, who had a history of troubling behavior, was expelled from the school last year for "disciplinary reasons."

The FBI said the information from the caller "should have been assessed as a potential threat to life" and forwarded to the FBI Miami field office.

This was not done and "no further investigation was conducted at that time," it said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was "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.

"We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy," Wray said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world

Follow us:
Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com