RED FLAGS

Local Police Received 18 Calls About Cruz Before Shooting

One call raised concerns that he was “a school shooter in the making.”

Broward County officials received a total of 18 calls about Nicolas Cruz before the Parkland shooting from those close to him, including concerns that he “planned to shoot up the school.” At least five of those calls raised red flags about Cruz’s access to weapons—none of which led to any direct intervention. His neighbors called in February 2016, concerned that he had plans to conduct a school shooting—information that dispatcher notes indicate was passed on to school sheriff’s deputy Scot Petersen, who resigned Thursday after officials determined he remained outside and didn’t confront Cruz during the attack. Another caller claimed that he could be “a school shooter in the making.” This comes as the FBI has been receiving increased scrutiny after it had received tips about Cruz, and after local police visited where Cruz was staying three times in the three months before the shooting.