FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018 file photo, students are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooter opened fire on the campus. It was the final period of the day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High and...
The massacre at a Florida high school is again raising concerns about whether the FBI missed signs that might have stopped a mass shooting.
Last fall, a Mississippi bail bondsman and video blogger noticed a comment on one of his YouTube videos that said, “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.” He immediately reported it to YouTube and the FBI and the next day two agents came to his office to take a printout of the comment and ask him whether he knew anything about the person who posted it.
Although the commenter’s username was “Nikolas Cruz,” — the same name as the 19-year-old man who authorities say killed 17 people at his former high school on Wednesday — the FBI couldn’t identify the poster, Robert Lasky, the special agent in charge of the FBI office in Miami, said Thursday.
Federal agents interviewed the man who reported the comment and searched public records databases, actions in line with those done during an FBI assessment — the lowest level, least intrusive and most elementary stage of an FBI inquiry — but came up short. The FBI says they still haven’t conclusively linked the account to the shooter.
A day earlier Cruz walked into his former high school in Florida with an AR-15 rifle and opened fire, shooting at students and teachers in hallways and on school grounds.
It is the latest attack to raise questions about whether people who once caught the attention of law enforcement should have remained on the FBI’s radar. In the last two years, a man who massacred 49 people at an Orlando nightclub, another who set off bombs in the streets of New York City and a third who gunned down travelers at a Florida airport, had each been looked at by federal agents but later determined not to warrant continued law enforcement scrutiny.
FBI assessments are routinely opened after agents receive a tip, which could be sparked by something as simple as noticing odd activity in a neighbor’s garage or a classmate’s comments. Agents routinely face a challenge of sifting through which of the tens of thousands of tips received every year — and more than 10,000 assessments that are opened — could yield a viable threat.
Had agents been able to confirm Cruz was the same person as the YouTube poster, they would have found dozens of photos of rifles, ammunition, targets filled with bullet holes, which likely would have led to a face-to-face interview. The FBI did not notify police in Florida about the post before the mass shooting.
“They owe us some more detail on what they did,” retired FBI assistant director Ron Hosko said.
The questions come as the FBI is already under intense scrutiny and facing unprecedented attack from President Donald Trump and some congressional Republicans, who have seized on what they say are signs of anti-Trump bias, particularly as it relates to special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
But it’s not clear the agency dropped the ball in this case, Hosko said.
“With anything that the FBI receives they are constrained to act based on what they have in front of them,” said Hosko. “You have a random internet posting that suggests the person wants to do something, not that they are planning on doing something.”
FBI guidelines meant to balance national security with civil liberties protections impose restrictions on the steps agents may take during the assessment phase.
Agents, for instance, may analyze information from government databases and open-source internet searches, and can conduct interviews during an assessment. But they cannot turn to more intrusive techniques, such as requesting a wiretap or internet communications, without higher levels of approval and a more solid basis to suspect a crime.
“It’s a tricky situation because sometimes you get information regarding individuals and they may be just showing off, blustering,” said Herbert Cousins Jr., a retired FBI special agent in charge.
A vague, uncorroborated threat alone may not be enough to proceed to the next level of investigation, according to Jeffrey Ringel, a former FBI agent and Joint Terrorism Task force supervisor who now works for the Soufan Group, a private security firm.
Many assessments are closed within days or weeks when the FBI concludes there’s no criminal or national security threat, or basis for continued scrutiny. The system is meant to ensure that a person who has not broken the law does not remain under perpetual scrutiny on a mere hunch — and that the FBI can reserve its scarce resources for true threats.
Had he had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic state, for example, investigators might have had enough evidence to proceed with a more intrusive probe.
Tips like the one that came in about the Florida gunman are among countless complaints that come into the FBI daily with varying degrees of specificity.
“How many of these do you expect the FBI to handle before it becomes the Federal Bureau of Complaints,” said retired FBI assistant director Ron Hosko. “They could spend their entire workforce tracking down internet exchanges that never going to go anywhere.”
___
Associated Press writer Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.
#KHOU11 After shifting over from #ASTROS Camp to coverage of school shooting in Parkland, Forida, I talked with Alexa Miednik , a Senior at Douglas HS. She never saw a gun but she says she knows the alleged shooter... pic.twitter.com/qzaOUbFMPu
Cruz quite literally knew the drill when it came to active shooters and understood that the lockdown procedure would go into effect the moment gunshots were heard. He certainly did not want to find himself wandering suddenly deserted hallways, trying to force his way through locked doors.
So Cruz seems to have hatched a two-part scheme to thwart the well-rehearsed lockdown plan.
He began by waiting until just five minutes before the 2:35 p.m. dismissal time.
He then pulled a fire alarm.
The timing likely made it more difficult for the school to order and maintain a complete lockdown. He was able to kill 12 inside the school, along with another two just outside and one on the street. Three more died in the hospital.
_________________ --
'Suppression of truth, human spirit and the holy chord of justice never works long-term. Something the suppressors never get.' David Southwell
http://aangirfan.blogspot.com http://aanirfan.blogspot.com
Martin Van Creveld: Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: "Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother."
Martin Van Creveld: I'll quote Henry Kissinger: "In campaigns like this the antiterror forces lose, because they don't win, and the rebels win by not losing."
Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson, the armed school resource officer, failed to enter Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the mass shooting
Now it emerges that another three deputies failed to enter to stop the shooter who killed 17 and left 15 injured on February 14, according to sources
Coral Springs police officers reportedly arrived on the scene to find the deputies cowering behind their vehicles
Growing resentment between the two groups boiled over on February 15, the day after the fatal shooting, at the candlelit vigil for victims
Coral Springs City Manager Mike Goodrum angrily confronted Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, in front of a dozen witnesses, over his deputies lack of action
An internal email by sent by Coral Springs Police Chief Tony Pustizzi reveals concerns at how the Sheriff's Department presented themselves after the attack
'I understand that another agency has given the impression that it had provided the majority of the rescue efforts... the truth will come out in time,' he wrote
Peterson, a former employee of the month, was suspended without pay and has since resigned
The latest reported shooting in Florida gives us a prime example of how false flag events are accomplished.
1. The shooter is reported to have been an orphan who had funds to purchase a firearm that more than 50% of America’s full time income cannot afford, was able to slip past all the Police, FBI and Law Enforcement “Army People” at the scene , (A drill was reported to have been taking place that involved the Army) shoot 17 people , drop all firearms and calmly walk out the school, and all the police and employees of school were tricked, no one saw Nickolas shoot anyone, however he was named the lone shooter within an hour of the alleged Crime!
2. Security cameras were removed prior to the event.
3. Florida was due to hold a vote on a bill to relax background checks on guns the following day.
4. So called witnesses laugh and show no signs of distress whilst others contradict the media reports to further confuse the public.
5. According to Broward County Sheriff Association, the Sheriff went to FBI academy. (just like Vegas Sheriff did)
6. There were five cop cars from out-of-town cop's jurisdiction, sitting and waiting, 2 hours before they busted the patsy they all "knew" was the one.
7. BROWARD county, the last couple of months everyone has been noticing the police doing drills all over the county, black helicopters and different cities joining together their police departments.
8. His lawyer appeared on tv less than 24 hours after this happened. He stated that "he's very remorseful". This is not normal procedure for lawyers.
9. He reportedly wrote on youtube "I am going to be a professional school shooter", and the FBI tells the very bold lie that they could not trace the message.
10. The reported shooter quickly pleads guilty,the prosecution takes the death penalty off the table and he's transferred to federal custody with no outrage from so called murdered family members.
11. Cruz does not know the police are after him and decides to go get something to eat at McDonald's/Subway without knowing he is the pre-selected patsy.
12. Superintendent Robert Runcie of Broward County Public Schools came to Broward from Chicago Public Schools in 2012, and is a friend of Obama.
13. School has a demolition in aftermath, to hide the evidence, (just like Sandy Hook).
14. CBS filming from a helicopter of the event, how long would it take for TV or News company, to be informed and get cameraman into helicopter?
15. The school was only accessible via a buzzer at that time of day, according to some parents, so how did he get in?
16. Why would someone who has been expelled be unknown or allowed to enter?
17. There is footage where the SWAT comes into a class where the children are with DRAWN GUNS and tell the children to get off their phones.
...
21. The reported use of the AR15 in staged events. (The gun they most want banned).
22. According to the Broward County Sheriff Dept Twitter it was Law Enforcement Day and there were special events in the district for cops and teens. Earlier in the day they had been posting pics of cops and teens learning about tactical equipment, etc.
23. Doctored pictures;look at Cruz eyebrows in his tee shirt pic, both bushy eyebrows are growing backwards, or both inwards toward centre of forehead?
24. This event went against protocols for gun attacks in schools. Lock downs, stay in classroom, get on floor away from doors and windows.
25. Girl claims she talks to Nikolas Cruz while they walk out of the building and she hears gun shots.
26. Police claim they responded to incidents 39 times at his home, If police respond more than once to a domestic incident someone was going to jail.
27.Not one photo on fakebook showing him holding a real gun. The only photo they have of "him" showing his face from the nose up is showing "him" holding an air soft.
...
Surveillance footage from the Florida high school where 17 people were gunned down was not shown live, as responding officers initially thought.
It was on a 26-minute delay — leading police to brace for a shootout when the gunman was actually long gone, Coral Springs police Capt. Brad McKeone said.
“Nobody told us,” Coral Springs police Chief Tony Pustizzi told the Sun Sentinel, which first reported the tape delay....
But McKeone, one of the responding officers, said the delay did not hinder the police response to the victims.
“It had no delay. It didn’t slow us down to getting us to anybody,” McKeone told CNN.
The main difference, McKeone said, was that officers thought they were going to confront the gunman. In reality, the shooter had already left Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“I expected to be in a gunbattle,” McKeone said.
Broward County Public Schools has not responded to CNN’s request for comment Thursday about the school surveillance system. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office, which is now leading the shooting investigation, also has not explained why the video was on tape delay...
not yet on @PressTV
The Shady Players of Florida's Parkland Shooting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2URTVL0LL8 not yet on @PressTV _________________ --
'Suppression of truth, human spirit and the holy chord of justice never works long-term. Something the suppressors never get.' David Southwell
http://aangirfan.blogspot.com http://aanirfan.blogspot.com
Martin Van Creveld: Let me quote General Moshe Dayan: "Israel must be like a mad dog, too dangerous to bother."
Martin Van Creveld: I'll quote Henry Kissinger: "In campaigns like this the antiterror forces lose, because they don't win, and the rebels win by not losing."
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You can attach files in this forum You can download files in this forum
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Chat
Usergroups
Calendar
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
