REUTERS/Alvin Baez
The FBI received a tip last year about a YouTube user named “nikolas cruz” who commented “I’m going to be a professional school shooter” on a video. The remark appeared on one of 36-year-old Ben Bennight’s videos in September. He sent a screenshot of that comment to the FBI tips email address and flagged it on YouTube. The comment was eventually taken down, and the agents from the Mississippi field office followed up with Bennight in person the following day. Agents asked if they knew him, and Bennight informed them that he did not. He said he next heard from a Miami field office agent who called him after the Florida shooting on Wednesday, and Mississippi field agents also visited him in person. They asked again if Bennight knew the commenter and then left. The FBI special agent on the case confirmed Thursday that the agency had received the tip, conducted database reviews and checks, but was not able to further identify the person behind the comment. The YouTube channel was active until Wednesday, but has since been taken down due to “multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy on violence.”