Police warned repeatedly about Cruz’s behavior
Access to weapons was common concern
PARKLAND, Fla. – Broward County deputies received at least 18 calls warning them about Nikolas Cruz from 2008 to 2017, including concerns that he “planned to shoot up the school” and other threats and acts of violence before he was accused of killing 17 people at a high school this month.
The warnings, made by concerned people close to Cruz, came in phone calls to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, records show.
At least five callers mentioned concern about his access to weapons, according to the documents. None of those warnings led to direct intervention.
In February 2016, neighbors told police they were worried he “planned to shoot up the school” after seeing pictures on Instagram showing Cruz brandishing guns.
About two months later, an unidentified caller told police Cruz had been collecting guns and knives. The caller was “concerned ( Cruz) will kill himself one day and believes he could be a school shooter in the making,” according to call details released by the sheriff’s office.
A second cousin asked police to take away Cruz’s guns after his mom died Nov. 1. “Nikolas is reported to have rifles, and it is requested that ( deputies) recover these weapons,” the dispatcher noted from the call.
The details add to the growing list of red flags missed by law enforcement officials, including the FBI.
The details add to the growing list of red flags missed by law enforcement officials, including the FBI, in the months leading up to the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.
After the call in February 2016, a deputy forwarded the information to the Stoneman Douglas school resource officer, Deputy Scot Peterson.
“Third- hand information received from neighbor’s son that Nikolas Cruz planned to shoot up the school on Instagram ( Picture of juvenile with guns),” say the notes from a dispatcher taking the call.
The deputy “determined Nikolas Cruz possessed knives and a BB gun” and passed the information along to Peterson. It’s not clear what, if anything, Peterson did with it.
Peterson, 54, retired after an internal investigation was launched into why he stayed outside the school for about four minutes and never entered as Cruz killed students and staff.
Two deputies, Edward Eason and Guntis Treijis, were placed on restricted administrative assignment, pending an investigation into how they handled calls, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.