Each day since the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, more revelations emerge about agencies that were warned about Nikolas Cruz but failed to act. Most recently: the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office received at least two calls from people concerned that Nikolas Cruz would shoot up a school. But deputies brushed them off.
On Nov. 30, about two and a half months before Cruz killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, someone called the sheriff’s office saying Cruz “could be a school shooter in the making.”
And two years earlier, in February 2016, a tipster told the sheriff’s office “Nikolas Cruz planned to shoot up the school.” He’d only started attending Stoneman Douglas a few weeks earlier.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel made no apologies for his agency’s handling of the calls, but said two deputies who responded to them were under investigation.
A week earlier, as cries of outrage rose over the FBI’s mishandling of tips about Cruz, the sheriff said: “At the end of the day, make no mistake about it America, the only one to blame for this incident is the killer himself.”
Besides the sheriff and the FBI, other agencies also knew of the troubled young man but didn’t connect the dots. Below is a timeline of the more critical warning signs:
Feb. 5, 2016 – A neighbor’s son tells BSO that Cruz, pictured with guns on Instagram, “planned to shoot up the school.” A deputy responds, discovers Cruz owns knives and a BB gun, and forwards the information to Marjory Stoneman Douglas high’s school resource officer Scot Peterson.
Sept. 28, 2016 – Another student informs Peterson that Cruz may have ingested gasoline a week earlier and is cutting himself. That student, who is a “peer counselor,” says Cruz indicated he wished to purchase a gun for hunting. The school says it will conduct a “threat assessment” on Cruz. The incident is reported to the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF), which sends investigators to his home. “Mr. Cruz stated he plans to go out and buy a gun. It is unknown what he is buying the gun for,” investigators wrote, noting that he also “had a Nazi symbol drawn on his book bag.” DCF determines he is receiving adequate support from his school and outpatient care from Henderson Behavioral Health in Broward County. A team from Henderson found Cruz “stable enough not to be hospitalized.”
Nov. 1, 2017 – Katherine Blaine tells BSO her cousin Lynda Cruz, Nikolas’ mother, recently died. She says Nikolas has rifles and requests BSO recover them. A “close family friend” agrees to take possession of the weapons. (After the Feb. 14 shootings, Blaine is re-interviewed and says she only knew of BB guns and denies requesting guns be taken from the residence, according to BSO).
Sept. 2017 – A blogger in Mississippi warns the FBI that a someone named ‘nikolas cruz’ wrote on his YouTube page: “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.”
Nov. 29, 2017 – Four weeks after the death of Cruz’s mother, a woman from the Palm Beach County family that took him in calls 911. She says her son, 22, has gotten into a fight with Cruz who then fled. Claiming Cruz “has a lot of weapons,” the woman says he was going to pick up a gun at a sporting goods store and return. Cruz also calls 911 from a nearby park, saying he was assaulted by the other man, who said “they were going to gut me if I come back.” The incident ends amicably with no one arrested, and turns out Cruz was upset because a photo of his late mother had been misplaced.
Nov. 30, 2017 – A caller from Massachusetts tells BSO that Cruz is collecting guns and knives and “could be a school shooter in the making.” The caller says Cruz is now living in Lake Worth. A BSO deputy tells the caller to contact the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Jan. 5, 2018 – A person close to Cruz contacts the FBI’s tipline to report concerns about him, including his possession of guns.
Feb. 14, 2018 — Armed with an AR-15, Cruz kills 14 students and three educators at the school.
Feb. 16, 2018 – Two days after the killings, the FBI acknowledges the Jan. 5 caller 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.” FBI Director Christopher Wray issued a public apology, saying: “We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy.”
