Acting FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich said the “processes were in place” to act on a tip about the Parkland, Fla., high school shooter, but they were “not followed.”
Speaking in Washington, Bowdich said the FBI’s Public Access Line for tips is aimed at moving information from around the country to its headquarters in West Virginia. From there, the information is distributed to the applicable FBI field office in what Bowdich called a “professional operation.”
However, this was not done with information about 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz.
“Let me be clear: There was a mistake made. We know that, but it is our job to do everything in our power to make sure it does not happen again,” Bowdich said Thursday. He said the “full-scale review” of the process is ongoing.
The FBI admitted last week that “a person close” to Cruz called the tip line on Jan. 5, 2018, to alert them of his behavior, which included a “desire to kill people” and “the potential of him conducting a school shooting.”
However, the information about Cruz — who confessed to opening fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland last week and killing 17 — was not passed along to the FBI Miami field office as it should have been.
Bowdich added that the public tip line process is “not easy work, but we’re not making any excuses.”
“Those processes were in place [do act on the tip], but they were not followed,” he said.
Last week, Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered an “immediate review” of the Department of Justice and FBI following this Cruz misstep.
