This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43090664
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Florida school shooting: FBI failed to act on gunman concerns | Florida school shooting: FBI failed to act on gunman concerns |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The FBI has said it did not properly follow up on a warning that Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz might carry out an attack. | The FBI has said it did not properly follow up on a warning that Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz might carry out an attack. |
| Last month, a person close to the 19-year-old contacted the law enforcement agency to warn of "the potential of him conducting a school shooting". | |
| But protocols were not followed and the FBI tipline did not pass along the complaint, the FBI said. | |
| It was not the first potential warning to the FBI regarding Mr Cruz. | |
| Mr Cruz has confessed to carrying out the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and has been charged with 17 counts of murder. | Mr Cruz has confessed to carrying out the attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and has been charged with 17 counts of murder. |
| It was the deadliest US school shooting since 2012. | It was the deadliest US school shooting since 2012. |
| What was the complaint? | |
| On 5 January a person close to the teenager contacted the FBI tipline to provide "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", said an FBI press release. | |
| The agency said that under established protocols, the caller's information to the Public Access Line should have been assessed as a potential threat to life and passed on to the Miami field office. | |
| "We have determined these protocols were not followed," said the FBI. | |
| FBI Director Christopher Wray said the bureau is "still investigating the facts". | |
| "I am committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in this particular matter, as well as reviewing our processes for responding to information that we receive from the public," he said. | "I am committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in this particular matter, as well as reviewing our processes for responding to information that we receive from the public," he said. |
| "We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy," he added. | |
| In 2016, the FBI received about 1,300 tips a day through its website, which is staffed around the clock by two dozen people. | |
| In addition to online tips, FBI field offices receive dozens of calls. About 100 of the tips are considered "actionable". | |
| What was the other warning? | |
| In September last year, a Mississippi man reported to the law enforcement agency a disturbing comment left on a YouTube video. | |
| A user called "nikolas cruz" said: "I'm going to be a professional school shooter." | |
| Ben Bennight said he spoke to FBI representatives for about 20 minutes. The bail bondsman said they contacted him again following the school shooting in Parkland. | |
| The FBI confirmed on Thursday they had been made aware of the comment at the time. | |
| They said they had conducted "checks", but were unable to identify the person behind it. | |
| What do we know about the suspect? | |
| Mr Cruz had been expelled from the school he has confessed to attacking and some students said they had joked "he's the one to shoot up the school". | |
| One former schoolmate, Chad Williams, told Reuters Mr Cruz was an "outcast" who was "crazy about guns". | |
| His interest in weapons was apparent on his social media profiles, which Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said were "very, very disturbing". | |
| He had reportedly sought psychological services at a clinic at some point. | |
| Who are the heroes? | |
| Aaron Feis, an assistant American football coach at the school, is being hailed a hero for shielding students from bullets. | |
| Mr Feis, who also worked as a security guard at the school, was fatally injured after diving in front of a pupil. | |
| Another teacher, Scott Beigel, was taking a geography class and opened the door to provide students with shelter. He was shot dead by the gunman while trying to lock the door, student Kelsey Friend told US media. | |
| David Hogg, 17, said he was in environmental science class when he heard bangs that sounded like a gun. | |
| He described to the BBC how his teacher closed the door but within seconds the fire alarm sounded, causing his class to "instinctively" leave the room. | |
| "We thought it was a drill," Mr Hogg said. | |
| He said he entered a corridor that was filled with a "tsunami" of students before they were all stopped by "a very heroic janitor". | |
| "He said, 'Don't go that way - he [the shooter] is over there'." | |
| Teacher Ashley Kurth told the Daily Beast website she was able to "grab" dozens of children from corridors. | |
| "I just started pulling kids in that were running past," she said. | |
| "It was a terrifying experience. After about 60 or 90 seconds, I shut the door and I got everybody back in our storage area and in my office. I think we had like 65 in my room," Ms Kurth said. | |
| Another teacher, Melissa Falkowski, told CNN "she "managed to put 19 kids in the closet with me"", where they remained for 30 minutes until officers arrived. | |
| Jim Gard, who taught mathematics at the school, said he "locked the door, turned out the lights and had the kids go to the back of the room". | |
| "I told the kids to hang in there," he told the Miami Herald. |