Suspect’s lawyers accuse system of missing ‘every single red flag’
Records show he gave off multiple warning signs that were dismissed
PARKLAND, Fla. – Long before authorities accused Nikolas Cruz of killing 17 people at his former high school in less than five minutes, state social workers, mental health counselors, school administrators, police and the FBI were warned about his declining mental state and penchant for violence.
No one took decisive action to help Cruz, and the 19-year-old diagnosed with depression, autism and ADHD continued on a path prosecutors said led to the shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Social workers, mental health counselors and school administrators — the front line of defense for many young adults — documented and dismissed red flags during home visits and school evaluations, according to records obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK.
“Mr. Cruz stated he plans to go out and buy a gun,” an investigator with Florida’s Department of Children and Families wrote Sept. 28, 2016, four days after Cruz turned 18 and six months before he legally bought a semiautomatic rifle. “It is unknown what he is buying the gun for.”
Police visited the family home dozens of times, but there is no indication what action, if any, officers took. As recently as January, the FBI received a tip about Cruz and his “desire to kill people,” but the information was never forwarded for investigation, the bureau confirmed Friday.
President Trump denounced the FBI’s error in a late-night tweet Saturday, blaming the agency’s investigation into suspected Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.
Cruz’s lawyers plan to fight any prosecution seeking the death penalty by arguing that the community failed to heed the many warnings.
“Every single red flag was present,” Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein said. “If this kid was missed, there is no system.”
After learning Cruz was cutting himself in late 2016 after a breakup with his girlfriend, a Department of Children and Families investigator became “concerned about the talk about wanting to purchase a gun and feeling depressed,” according to the agency’s records.
Investigators noted his mental health diagnoses and expressions of hate such as Nazi symbols on his book bag next to a racial slur.
A department investigator didn’t check for cutting scars “because he was wearing long sleeves,” according to the investigator’s notes after a home visit.
Lynda Cruz, his mother, assured the investigator that he “doesn’t have a gun” and that he met regularly with his mental health counselor.
School staff called Henderson Behavioral Health in Broward County after learning Cruz had cut himself and after a fight he had with another student. According to an Oct. 7, 2016, note by the children and families agency investigator, a school counselor said, “Henderson’s mobile crisis unit had been called out to the school and determined that he was not at risk to harm himself or others.”
The Henderson crisis clinician treating Cruz found him stable enough not to warrant hospitalization under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows the state to commit people who pose a threat to themselves or others.
Investigators worried that the assessment by the mental health clinic in Broward might be “premature,” but they left the decision to Henderson.
The Henderson counselor told investigators that “he has been compliant with taking his medications and keeps all of his appointments.”
The counselor said Cruz’s mother, who died in November, “has always been an attentive mom and followed through with care needs,” investigators wrote in their report.
Cruz declined to talk to the investigator who visited his home and said he “had talked about the situation enough,” according to the report.
A resource officer at the school “refused to share any information regarding the incident that took place,” according to investigators’ notes.
The agency determined Cruz’s “final level of risk is low.”
The self-mutilation should have been a red flag that investigators pursued more aggressively, said Antonio Sanchez, adjunct professor at Miami-Dade College and former ranking command officer for several police agencies in Miami-Dade County. “To me, that’s shocking,” Sanchez said.
Cruz presented a clear threat to himself and others based on the self-mutilation, a frequent trigger for involuntary commitment, he said. Had Children and Families Department investigators or Henderson counselors committed Cruz, state law could have prevented him from buying the gun.
“What more did they want him to say?” Sanchez said. “As a professional, how many more signs do you need to see before we say, ‘ We have a serious issue here?’ ”
An administrator at Henderson Behavioral Health declined to answer questions and hung up when contacted for an interview Sunday. The Henderson counselor who treated Cruz did not respond to requests for comment and notes left at his home address.
“Mental health services and supports were in place when this investigation closed,” Children and Families Department Secretary Mike Carroll said in a statement Saturday.
A judge will determine this week whether to release the department’s records on Cruz.
A communication breakdown among agencies is partially to blame for last week’s tragedy, Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press. He called for more collaboration among authorities, especially for a pipeline of school records into gun background checks.
“Given what I’ve seen so far, we need a smarter system,” Runcie said
When Cruz bought the gun in February from Sunrise Tactical Supply, state authorities who ran the background check had no record of his mental health history or behavior at school.
Cruz had a history of violence at school, according to county disciplinary records obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK. More than a dozen school officials, teachers and administrators cited Cruz in at least 41 disciplinary incidents from May 2012 to January 2017.
Cruz was cited time and again for fighting, assaults, profane language and insults, and he served detentions and suspensions. There were frequent referrals for threat assessments, family conferences and social work intervention.
Neighbors said his home life was in similar distress. Without giving details, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said last week that his office received about 20 calls in the past few years about Cruz.
That number seemed low to residents who said deputies were frequently parked at Cruz’s home, noticeable on such a quiet street.
A neighbor across the street called deputies after seeing Cruz post online about buying guns just after his 18th birthday — around the same time of the Children and Families Department investigation.
“They told us they checked it out,” said Dave Brugman, 59. “You can’t watch him every day.”
Brugman got extra security installed around his house after he suspected Cruz poisoned his dog in the dark hours of the night at least three different times.
He also said he believes Cruz put a brick through his car window.
“How many more signs do you need to see before we say, ‘We have a serious issue here?’ ” Antonio Sanchez Miami-Dade College