As the nation mourns the loss of 17 individuals killed in a mass shooting at a Florida High School, multiple questions are beginning to surface as to whether the FBI ignored key red flags that could’ve prevented the tragedy at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
An FBI agent spoke with reporters Thursday over claims the bureau received a tip last year that Nikolas Cruz claimed he wanted to be a “professional school shooter” on social media, saying the agency investigated but was unable to determine the individuals “true identity.”
“In 2017 the FBI received information about a comment made on a YouTube channel. The comment simply said, ‘I’m going to be a professional school shooter.’ No other information was included in that comment which would indicate a time, location, or the true identity of the person who made the comment,” said FBI Agent in Charge Robert Lasky.
“The FBI conducted database reviews, checks, but was unable to further identify the person who actually made the comment,” he added.
Watch the agent’s comments below:
FBI Special Agent in Charge, Robert Lasky, addresses @bri_sacks scoop about the FBI being warned about a comment about school violence from the shooter’s name in September.
He said the agency couldn’t ID the person. pic.twitter.com/BB9hgHccha
— Tom Namako (@TomNamako) February 15, 2018