Wasserman Schultz wants Parkland shooting answers from FBI, backs sheriff
SUNRISE U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Monday she’s like everyone else with questions about the FBI’s mishandling of tips that might have averted the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High massacre — waiting for answers from the FBI.
More than two months after the shooting in which 17 people were killed and 17 wounded, Wasserman Schultz said she isn’t privy to any inside information about what went wrong at the FBI after it received tips about gunman Nikolas Cruz.
“I’d just like answers as to how that ball got dropped,” she said during an exchange with a small group of reporters at her district office in Sunrise.
Wasserman Schultz said she’s also waiting for other investigations into what happened before and during the Feb. 14 massacre, including a review of the performance of the Broward Sheriff ’s Office.
Asked if she has full confidence in Sheriff Scott Israel, Wasserman Schultz said: “I have confidence in Sheriff Israel. But I do want answers to the questions, and I know he wants answers to the questions that have been asked about how those balls were dropped, and whether they were dropped.”
Critics have faulted the sheriff’s office over repeated visits to the school shooter’s home before the massacre and a deputy’s failure to enter the school and try to stop the shooting.
On Friday, the Sheriff’s Office released reports showing at least three deputies arrived at Stoneman Douglas in time to hear gunshots but did not immediately enter the building where the shooting took place. Some deputies did go into the building; others initially tried to enter the wrong building.
Republican candidates for governor and many Republicans in the state House of Representatives have pressed for Israel’s removal from office, asserting he’s incompetent and has neglected his duty.
Wasserman Schultz, Israel, is a Democrat.
Before coming to conclusions about the performance of the sheriff and his agency, Wasserman Schultz said, “I’m waiting for the results of all the independent investigations. [The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating] and I assume that through their investigation we’ll know more about what the truth is and what the details are.”
Immediately after the shooting, the FBI admitted it mishandled a detailed warning call to its public access line by not pursuing like the tip. The caller warned the FBI that “he’s going to explode” and was concerned about Cruz “getting into a school and just shooting the place up.” The FBI said it received another telephone tip, but it didn’t have enough information to pursue.
Wasserman Schultz said members of Congress and their constituents need to know more about what happened at the FBI. “I’m waiting for that information, and do believe that we should hopefully have it soon,” adding that she didn’t know if it’s taking too long for the FBI to investigate and detail its findings.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Republican seeking his party’s nomination for governor, said after a South Florida campaign stop that the FBI hasn’t been forthcoming enough or fast enough in holding people accountable for their errors.
“Here we are, geez, almost two months after the shooting, and nobody from the FBI has lost their job. I mean you think about two tips from the same guy. And not just that he’s dangerous, but that he might shoot up a school,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis is a member of the Judiciary Committee, which received a closeddoor briefing from FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich on March 6. “When confronted with the lack of action, he was more worried about due process for the people that dropped the ball than he is about bringing swift accountability,” DeSantis said.
Wasserman Schultz, a Broward/Miami-Dade County Democrat, is a longtime proponent of firearms restrictions that she believes would reduce gun violence. On Monday, she wore a lapel pin with a red letter “F” along with the pin that shows she’s a member of Congress. It represents her failing grade from the National Rifle Association, something she said she and some other members of Congress have been wearing for a couple of weeks.
She said figuring out what went wrong shouldn’t overwhelm efforts to take action on guns.
“Making sure that we learn what happened — whether it’s the failure of the top line to be followed up on or the question of what really happened in terms of why officers did or didn’t go into the building — those questions need to be answered,” she said.
“But nothing should distract us from the fact that if you had far less of an ability to get military-style assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and do background checks on every gun purchase, we will dramatically reduce the likelihood that shootings like this happen,” Wasserman Schultz said.
aman@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4550 or Twitter @browardpolitics