FBI Admits It ‘Mishandled’ Several Tips About Nikolas Cruz

The FBI has admitted it failed to properly investigate early tips about Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz’s disturbing behavior on social media, and didn’t contact YouTube for help tracking down his most infamous threat. In a private meeting with Congress on Tuesday, FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich said there were “multiple opportunities” to intervene before Cruz shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Valentine’s Day, BuzzFeed News reports. Bowdich said FBI agents twice interviewed a YouTube vlogger who contacted the bureau in September 2017 about a comment from a user named “nikolas cruz” that stated: “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.” However, FBI agents carried out social-media searches on Cruz and closed the case soon afterward because it could not find “personal identifiable information on the user who posted the threatening comment.” Bowdich also admitted the FBI didn’t properly investigate a further tip from a Cruz family friend about the teen’s “troubling behavior and disturbing social-media posts.” Despite multiple opportunities, Bowdich said, the FBI “did not share information with state and local authorities” about Cruz.