TEHRAN, February 17-The FBI has acknowledged it did not follow its own investigative procedures after it failed to act on a tip about the suspected attacker in a mass shooting at a Florida high school that left at least 17 people dead this week.
TEHRAN,Young Journalists Club (YJC) -The FBI has acknowledged it did not follow its own investigative procedures after it failed to act on a tip about the suspected attacker in a mass shooting at a Florida high school that left at least 17 people dead this week.
The FBI said on Friday that it received a report through a public tipline in January about the suspected shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, whom a caller said displayed a "desire to kill people", "erratic behaviour" and "disturbing social media posts".
The information came from "a person close" to Cruz on January 5, the bureau said in a statement, and should have been forwarded to an FBI field office in Miami, "where appropriate investigative steps would have been taken".
Those protocols were not followed, however, the FBI said.
"We are still investigating the facts. I am committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in this particular matter, as well as reviewing our processes for responding to information that we receive from the public," FBI Director Christopher Wray said.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered a review into FBI and Justice Department procedures following the announcement, AP news agency reported, while Florida Governor Rick Scott called on the FBI director to resign.
"The FBI's failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable," Scott said in a statement.
"Seventeen innocent people are dead and acknowledging a mistake isn't going to cut it."
The information comes after more than a thousand people gathered to mourn the 17 people killed in Wednesday's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Several vigils were held throughout the day and evening on Thursday, a day after a gunman opened fire at the school, killing at least 14 students and three adults.
During a candlelight vigil on Thursday night in Parkland, a sea of candles lit the sky as those in attendance held a moment of silence for the victims.
"It's good that people can come together, but it's bad that this is what it took for them to come together" a student who attended the vigil told WJXT-TV.
Another student told the Palm Beach Post that he has been "trying to process everything that's going through [his] brain, trying to cope".
"I was mad. He was 14 years old. I hate that feeling," the student said, referring to the brother of a close friend that was killed.
Seventeen angel structures lined the stage at the vigil to represent the victims, according to local media.
Source:Aljazeera
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