US President Donald Trump on Saturday criticised the FBI for missing “many signals” about the Florida shooter, claiming the blunder occurred because the agency was “spending too much time” trying to prove the Trump campaign colluded with Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.
Trump tweeted: “Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!”
On Wednesday, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire at a high school in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people. Two days later, the FBI admitted a person close to him had called the agency’s tip-line in January to say that Cruz had had displayed a desire to kill people and conduct a school shooting. However, in a serious breach of protocol, the information was not passed on to a field office.
“We are still investigating the facts,” FBI director Christopher Wray said. “We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy.”
{{/usCountry}}“We are still investigating the facts,” FBI director Christopher Wray said. “We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy.”
{{/usCountry}}Cruz had been the on the radar of authorities and had been investigated in 2016 for slashing his arm in a video, in which he had also said he wanted to buy guns. There were other social media posts that had red-flags about his potential to do harm.