Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley announced an oversight hearing on the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., and overall school safety, saying the “government must be held accountable for its mistakes” after the FBI botched a tip about the Feb. 14 school shooter.
The hearing will be held March 14.
Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said events like the Valentine’s Day mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead should be a reason to “come together in a clear and bipartisan manner and find a way forward.”
“The great tragedy of the Parkland shooting is that it was preventable. The FBI and local law enforcement failed to act on credible tips that should have neutralized the killer and gotten him help,” Grassley said Thursday morning at a committee hearing.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office received numerous tips about the shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, and his threats. The FBI had also received information about his threats and behavior in September 2017 and January.
Grassley said he directed the FBI as well as social media companies like Google and Facebook to brief Senate Judiciary Committee staff on how they responded to online warning signs about Cruz.
“It has been clear from these briefings that the systems designed to prevent troubled individuals like the Parkland shooter from engaging in violent acts failed miserably,” Grassley said.
Grassley added: “Government must be held accountable for its mistakes. It is also clear that private companies can do more to prevent future mass shootings by identifying threatening content and warning law enforcement officials.”
Grassley also set he met with ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, earlier to discuss “a safer and more civil society.”
