The FBI admits it was tipped off about the Parkland shooter and never followed through


The FBI admitted Friday that it received a tip from "a person close to" Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old who has confessed to carrying out Wednesday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, that "provided information about Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting." The bureau did not follow through with the established protocol, allowing the information to fall by the wayside, the FBI said.
The tip came into the FBI's Public Access Line (PAL) on Jan. 5, 2018, and the information should have been passed on to the FBI Miami Field Office for subsequent investigative steps, but it was not. "I am committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in this particular matter," said FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Separately, a YouTube account posting under the name Nikolas Cruz commented on a video in September saying, "I'm going to be a professional school shooter." The comment was reported to the FBI by another YouTube user, but the investigation apparently led nowhere.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Cruz killed 17 at the Florida high school Wednesday.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Magazine solutions - June 27, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - June 27, 2025
-
Magazine printables - June 27, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - June 27, 2025
-
Army commissions tech execs as officer recruits
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Some of the tech industry's most powerful players are answering the call of Uncle Sam
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival