I-Team: Police Documents Reveal Troubled Past of Florida Shooting Suspect
BOSTON (CBS) - Investigators in Florida now say police received approximately 20 calls related to Nikolas Cruz over the past few years.
I-Team Chief investigative reporter Cheryl Fiandaca obtained five reports filed by the Broward County Sheriffs dating back to 2013. They paint a disturbing pattern of behavior involving animal abuse, racism, mental illness and interest in firearms.
The most recent report dated Sept. 28, 2016. Police were called to the Cruz's Parkland address. An investigator from the Department of Children and Families and a therapist from a mental health center were on scene.
The officer wrote: Nikolas suffers from mental illness. He and His mother, Linda Cruz, were arguing over paperwork, so that Nikolas could get and identification card. He has been cutting his arms, his mother said, to get attention, as he learned it from an ex-girlfriend. He has mentioned in the past that he would like to purchase a firearm. He is currently a client of Henderson Mental Health.
The report goes on to say that the therapist, the DCF worker and the officer all saw no signs of mental illness or criminal activity and left without incident.
On the same day, police also got information from the Stoneham Douglas High School. The report states: Information from a peer counselor student (wants to remain anonymous) that student Nikolas Cruz (18-years-old) had stated that a couple of weeks ago he had ingested gasoline in an attempt to kill himself.
The report also details information from a mental health counselor who reported that Cruz: Told her that he wants to purchase a gun for hunting. Cruz was also found to have a swastika and hate speech on his school backpack.
The report also stated: Stoneman Douglas High School will be conducting a threat assessment on Cruz to determine if a safety plan should be implemented on Cruz.
A report dated Nov. 20, 2014 says neighbors called police when Cruz was discovered shooting at her chickens in the back yard.
And just last fall, a neighbor took video of Cruz in his underwear shooting what looks like a BB gun outside his back door.
Cruz's social media posts show him posing with guns, knives and dead animals, leaving little question that the 19-year-old was a potential threat.
The FBI says it has apologized to the victims and families for their failure to investigate the detailed tip.
The agency has also launched an investigation in to what went wrong.
Meantime, the governor of Florida is demanding the director of the FBI step down.
