appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Reuters

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has said that it failed to investigate a January tip that could have stopped `19-year-old Nikolas Cruz killing 17 pupils and teachers in a Florida high-school shooting on Wednesday.
A person close to Cruz called an FBI 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,” the FBI said.
But the tip was not handled properly nor were “appropriate investigative steps taken,” the FBI said.
Coach, immigrant, star swimmer: the 17 Florida shooting victims



“Under established protocols, the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life,” the FBI said in its statement.
“The information then should have been forwarded to the FBI Miami field office, where appropriate investigative steps would have been taken.
“We have determined that these protocols were not followed.”
The tip appeared unrelated to a previously reported YouTube comment in which a person named Nikolas Cruz said, “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.” 
FBI failed to find ‘Florida school shooter’ after another tip-off last year
The FBI has acknowledged getting that tip as well but failing to connect it to Cruz, who is accused of carrying out the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday with an AR-15-style assault rifle.
“We are still investigating the facts,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in the statement. “We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy.”



The second-deadliest shooting at a public school in US history also raised concerns about potential failures in school security and stirred the ongoing debate about gun rights, which are protected by the Second Amendment of the American Constitution.
Leaders including US President Donald Trump have linked mental illness to Wednesday’s violence, suggesting that it was the public’s responsibility to warn officials of such dangers.
Who is Nikolas Cruz, suspect held for Florida school mass shooting?
“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behaviour,” Trump said in a Thursday tweet.
“Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!”
Cruz, who had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High for undisclosed disciplinary reasons, made a brief court appearance on Thursday and was ordered held without bond.
Minute-by-minute account of Florida gunman’s carnage
“He’s a broken human being,” his lawyer, public defender Melissa McNeill, told reporters. “He’s sad, he’s mournful, he’s remorseful.”
News of the FBI’s mishandling of the last month’s tip about Cruz came as families of the 17 victims began to bury their dead.


The first two funerals were for Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, a high school athlete and Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old senior who had been headed to Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida.
Brian Gately, a friend of the Alhadeff family, said he attended Alyssa’s funeral and that the synagogue was so packed he had to stand in the rear.
“There was just really a lot of sadness in there,” Gately, a 51-year-old financial adviser who lives in Parkland said.
Latest US mass shootings all have something in common
The burial became more emotional, he added, saying, “People were yelling, ‘No, no.’ Kids were yelling, ‘No, no.’”
Trump tweeted on Friday morning that he would leave for Florida later in the day to meet people whose “lives had been totally shattered” by the shooting.

I will be leaving for Florida today to meet with some of the bravest people on earth - but people whose lives have been totally shattered. Am also working with Congress on many fronts.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 16, 2018

The vice-mayor of Broward County, where the killings took place, blasted any visit by Trump, saying Republicans had failed to back common sense gun laws and had rolled back measures that made it harder for severely mentally ill people to buy weapons.
“Him coming here is absolutely absurd, and he’s a hypocrite,” Mark Bogen told CNN in an interview following Trump’s tweet.
Wednesday’s shooting ranks as the greatest loss of life from school gun violence since the 2012 shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 first-graders and six adult educators dead.


Video brings new scrutiny to Minnesota ICE shooting after charges against 2 men collapsed

FBI says man who crashed his truck into Michigan synagogue was inspired by Hezbollah

Woman pleads not guilty to attempted murder of singer Rihanna

Brother of Michigan synagogue attacker was Hezbollah commander, Israeli military claims

Gun violence in the US

FBI didn’t follow up on tip-off about Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz’s guns and ‘desire to kill’

Mourners look at a memorial for the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, in a park in Parkland, Florida on February 16, 2018. A former student, Nikolas Cruz, opened fire at the Florida high school leaving 17 people dead and 15 injured. / AFP PHOTO / RHONA WISE

epa06530124 Suspected school shooter Nikolas Cruz (C) makes a video appearance in Broward County court before Judge Kim Theresa Mollica, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, 15 February 2018. Cruz is facing 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. EPA-EFE/Susan Stocker / POOL

NORTH LAUDERDALE, FL - FEBRUARY 16: A program is seen from the funeral of Alyssa Alhadeff at the Garden of Aaron at Star of David Memorial Gardens on February 16, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. Alhadeff was one of 17 people killed in the February 15 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Former student Nikolas Cruz has been arrested and charged for the 17 murders. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Mourners leave the funeral of Meadow Pollack, a victim of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with several counts of premeditated murder on Thursday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Mourners leave the funeral of Meadow Pollack, a victim of the Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Fla., Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. Nikolas Cruz, a former student, was charged with serveral counts of premeditated murder. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Ex-student kills 17 in bloody Valentine’s Day shooting spree at Florida high school

The suspect, identified as Nikolas Cruz, is now in custody, a Broward County Sheriff’s spokesman said

Medical personnel tend to a victim following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. (John McCall/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Students are evacuated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during a shooting incident in Parkland, Florida, U.S. February 14, 2018 in a still image from video. WSVN.com via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGES HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO ACCESS SOUTHEAST FLORIDA MEDIA.

The man accused of opening fire at a Florida high school on Wednesday, killing 17 people, was a troubled former student who loved guns and was expelled for disciplinary reasons, police and former classmates said. Nikolaus Cruz, 19, was arrested about an hour after a shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters.

Twitter user Aidan posted this photograph from inside his classroom during the shooting, with the message "My school is being shot up and I am locked inside. I’m f***ing scared right now." Photo: TheCaptinAidan via Twitter

Family member embrace following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, in Parkland, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

A man placed in handcuffs is led by police near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a shooting incident in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday. Police said the suspect was a 19-year-old former student at the school. Video still: WSVN.com via REUTERS

‘Crazy about guns’: Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz described as troubled ex-student who made disturbing social media posts about killing animals

Nikolas Cruz, 19, was arrested about an hour after a shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Photo: Handout

Students are evacuated by police from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, after a shooter opened fire on the campus. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

A man placed in handcuffs is led by police near Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School following a shooting incident in Parkland, Florida, U.S. February 14, 2018 in a still image from video. WSVN.com via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGES HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO ACCESS SOUTHEAST FLORIDA MEDIA.

FBI failed to find ‘Florida school shooter and white supremacist’ Nikolas Cruz after tip-off

Nikolas Cruz (centre) appears via video monitor with Melisa McNeill (right), his public defender, at a bond court hearing after being charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday. Photo: Pool via Reuters

This photo posted on the Instagram account of Nikolas Cruz shows a weapon being held. Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, the day after opening fire with a semi-automatic weapon in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (Instagram via AP)

This photo posted on the Instagram account of Nikolas Cruz shows weapons lying on a bed. Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, the day after opening fire with a semi-automatic weapon in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. (Instagram via AP)

Nikolas Cruz appears in a police booking photo after being charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder following a Parkland school shooting, at Broward County Jail in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. February 15, 2018. Broward County Sheriff/Handout via REUTERS. ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY.

A video monitor shows school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, center of monitor, making an appearance before Judge Kim Theresa Mollica in Broward County Court, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Cruz is accused of opening fire Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., killing more than a dozen people and injuring several. (Susan Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

TOPSHOT - Police vehicles block the road to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, following a shooting that killed 17 people on February 14, 2018 in Parkland, Florida. A former student armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire at a Florida high school, killing at least 17 people, officials said, in a harrowing shooting spree that saw terrified students hiding in closets and under desks as they texted for help. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel identified the gunman as Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland who had been expelled for "disciplinary reasons." / AFP PHOTO / Gaston De Cardenas

News

World

United States & Canada

The bureau said it mishandled the January 5 tip about the guns Nikolas Cruz was amassing, his ‘desire to kill people’ and his ‘erratic behaviour’


United States

Florida

FBI didn’t follow up on tip-off about Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz’s guns and ‘desire to kill’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The bureau said it mishandled the January 5 tip about the guns Nikolas Cruz was amassing, his ‘desire to kill people’ and his ‘erratic behaviour’

The bureau said it mishandled the January 5 tip about the guns Nikolas Cruz was amassing, his ‘desire to kill people’ and his ‘erratic behaviour’