Following the FBI's admission that it failed to properly act on a tip on Jan. 5 about the man who killed 17 people at a Florida high school, Governor Rick Scott called for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign.
"We constantly promote 'see something, say something,' and a courageous person did just that to the FBI. And the FBI failed to act," Scott said in a statement. "'See something, say something' is an incredibly important tool and people must have confidence in the follow through from law enforcement. The FBI Director needs to resign."
Read Scott's full statement below.
Today, Governor Rick Scott made the following statement regarding the FBI’s admission that they failed to take action after receiving information on January 5, 2018, regarding “[Nikolas] 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.”
Governor Scott said, “The FBI’s failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable. The FBI has admitted that they were contacted last month by a person who called to inform them of Cruz’s ‘desire to kill people,’ and ‘the potential of him conducting a school shooting.’
“Seventeen innocent people are dead and acknowledging a mistake isn’t going to cut it. An apology will never bring these 17 Floridians back to life or comfort the families who are in pain. The families will spend a lifetime wondering how this could happen, and an apology will never give them the answers they desperately need.
“We constantly promote ‘see something, say something,’ and a courageous person did just that to the FBI. And the FBI failed to act. ‘See something, say something’ is an incredibly important tool and people must have confidence in the follow through from law enforcement. The FBI Director needs to resign.”
Nikolas Cruz, who has confessed to police to being the shooter, showed patterns of racism online and also promised to harm people with assault rifles.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has already called for a review of FBI and Department of Justice procedures that led to the shooting at Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida on Tuesday.
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.
