FBI chief ‘must quit’ over Florida massacre blunder
Bureau had TWO tip-offs about danger – but did nothing
THE FBI director was last night facing calls to resign after it was revealed the bureau failed to investigate two tip-offs that the Florida school killer could be planning an attack.
Investigators were told six weeks ago that Nikolas Cruz was planning a shooting – but no one investigated or told the bureau’s Miami branch about the warning.
Cruz, 19, a troubled teenager with a history of violence and disturbed behaviour, murdered 17 people during his rampage at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day.
He shot into five classrooms, apparently at random, at one point doubling back to shoot into some of the same classrooms again.
He had arrived at the school in Parkland, near Miami, in an Uber hire car and was carrying an assault rifle he had bought legally a year earlier, and several magazines of ammunition.
The FBI has now admitted it failed to intervene twice when it was alerted to his erratic behaviour. A message left on social media, saying: ‘I’m going to be a professional school shooter’ was reported to the FBI last September. It was investigated but the agency said it could not identify who had left it, despite it appearing under Cruz’s full name.
Last night the FBI disclosed it had received a second tip-off about Cruz on January 5, warning he could be planning a school shooting.
The tipster, who was said to be close to the teenager, told agents about his guns, desire to kill people, erratic behaviour and disturbing social media posts and specifically warned of fears he could attack a school.
The agency said it failed to investigate the report thoroughly.
Florida governor Rick Scott sharply criticised the federal law enforcement agency, declaring ‘the FBI’s failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable’ and calling for its director Christopher Wray to quit.
In a statement, Mr Scott said: ‘ We constantly promote “see something, say something” and a courageous person did just that to the FBI and the FBI failed to act ... People must have confidence in the follow-through from law enforcement.’ He added: ‘An apology will never bring these 17 Floridians back to life or comfort the families who are in pain.’
US Senator Marco Rubio also criticised the FBI, saying it was ‘inexcusable’ the bureau did not follow protocols and that Congress should launch its own investigations into what happened.
Mr Wray said: ‘We are still investigating the facts. We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy.’ The terrifying scenes inside the school were revealed yesterday by British survivor Lewis Mizen. The 17-yearold, who moved from Coventry with his family three years ago, and said the attack was ‘a nightmare come to life’.
He said he was among 20 hiding in a storage cupboard, using their phones to watch live news coverage being filmed outside until police came to evacuate them.
He added: ‘It’s one of those things you see on the news and think that will never happen to you, but it has. I have friends who have been killed, I have friends who have been shot. How can this be real?’
It was also revealed that Cruz calmly walked into a McDonald’s half an hour after his killing spree. He had dumped his AR-15 rifle and mingled with crowds of evacuated pupils before heading to a nearby mall.
He went into a Subway sandwich shop inside a Walmart and bought a drink, then went to a McDonald’s and sat for several minutes.
After his arrest, he confessed to police he had carried out the massacre, but offered no explanation as to why he had mown down his former classmates and their teachers in the third worst school shooting in US history.
Cruz was only inside the school for seven minutes but his actions have prompted anger over the US government’s failure to act over gun control, despite its long history of school mass shootings.
Last night an FBI spokesman said the tip-off ‘should have been assessed as a potential threat to life’, adding that protocols ‘were not followed’. It was also reported
‘Agency’s failure is unacceptable’ ‘How can this be real?’
last night that the suspect told police he heard voices that gave him instructions for the attack.
The voices were described as ‘demons’ by law enforcement sources, reported ABC News.
Cruz, who was adopted as a young child, was said to have become depressed after the death of his adopted mother last November. His legal team said he suffered from autism and depression and described him as a ‘broken human being... a broken child’.
Police had been called to Cruz’s home 39 times since 2010 over claims he was menacing neighbours. He was expelled from the high school last year after assaulting a pupil.