Numerous missed opportunities before Florida shooter killed 17 at Broward high school

PARKLAND - Long before authorities accused Nikolas Cruz of killing 17 people at his former high school in less than five minutes, state social workers, mental health counselors, school administrators, police and the FBI received warnings about his declining mental state and penchant for violence.

Instead of taking decisive action to help Cruz, the troubled 19-year-old diagnosed with depression, autism and ADHD was left essentially to continue on his own down a path that prosecutors say led to the shooting Wednesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 rifle, records obtained by USA TODAY NETWORK show.

Social workers, mental health counselors and school administrators — the front line of defense for many young adults — documented and dismissed red flags during home visits and school evaluations, the records show.

“Mr. Cruz stated he plans to go out and buy a gun,” an investigator with Florida’s Department of Children and Families wrote in Sept. 28, 2016, four days after he turned 18 and six months before he legally bought the assault rifle. “It is unknown what he is buying the gun for.”

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Police visited the family home dozens of times, but there is no indication what action, if any, officers took. As recently as January, the FBI received a tip about Cruz and his "desire to kill people," but the information was never forwarded for investigation, the bureau confirmed Friday.

President Donald Trump denounced the FBI’s error in a late night tweet Saturday, blaming the agency’s ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

“Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable," Trump's tweet read. "They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign - there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!”

Cruz’s lawyers plan to fight the death penalty by arguing that the community failed to heed the many warnings.

“Every single red flag was present,” said Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein. “If this kid was missed, there is no system.”

After learning Cruz was cutting himself in late 2016 following a breakup with his girlfriend, a DCF investigator became “concerned about the (Cruz) talk about wanting to purchase a gun and feeling depressed,” according to the agency’s investigation records.

Investigators noted his mental health diagnoses, which seemed to manifest in expressions of hate: Nazi symbols on his book bag next to the declaration written with a racial slur, “I hate nig---s.”

A DCF investigator didn’t check for cutting scars on Cruz “because he was wearing long sleeves,” according to the investigator's notes after a home visit.

Lynda Cruz, his mother, assured the DCF investigator that he "doesn't have a gun" and that he was meeting regularly with his mental health counselor.

School staff called Henderson Behavioral Health in Broward County after learning Cruz had cut himself and after a fight he had with another student. An Oct. 7, 2016, note by a DCF investigator indicates a school counselor said "Henderson's Mobile crisis unit had been call out to the school and determined that he was not at risk to harm himself or others."

The Henderson crisis clinician treating Cruz said he found him stable enough not to be hospitalized under Florida’s Baker Act, which allows the state to commit people who pose a threat to themselves or others.

The counselor told the investigators he had Cruz sign "a safety contract and the counseling services are in place at home now and will also continue in school," according to the report.

DCF investigators worried the assessment by the mental health clinic in Broward may be “premature.” But they punted the decision to Henderson.

DCF investigators questioned the family about how consistently Cruz took his medication. The Henderson counselor told them that there are “no issues” and “he has been compliant with taking his medications and keeps all of his appointments.”

The Henderson counselor who treated Cruz said the teen's mother, who died in November, “has always been an attentive mom and followed through with care needs,” DCF investigators wrote in their report.

Cruz declined to talk to the DCF investigator who visited his home and said he “had talked about the situation enough,” according to the report.

A school resource officer stationed at the school “refused to share any information regarding the incident that took place,” according to DCF notes.

The agency ultimately determined his “final level of risk is low.”

The self-mutilation should have been a red flag that DCF pursued more aggressively, said Antonio Sanchez, adjunct professor at Miami-Dade College and former ranking command officer for several police agencies in Miami-Dade County.

"To me, that's shocking,” Sanchez said.

Cruz presented a clear threat to himself and others based on the self-mutilation, a frequent trigger for involuntary commitment, he said.

Had DCF or Henderson counselors committed Cruz, state law could have prevented him from buying the gun.

"What more did they want him to say?” Sanchez said. “As a professional, how many more signs do you need to see before we say, 'We have a serious issue here?’ ”

An administrator at Henderson Behavioral Health declined to answer questions and hung up when contacted for an interview Sunday. The Henderson counselor who treated Cruz did not respond to requests for comment and notes left at his home address.

“Mental health services and supports were in place when this investigation closed,” DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said in a statement issued Saturday.

A judge will determine this week whether to release the department’s records on Cruz.

A communication breakdown among agencies is partially to blame for last week’s tragedy, Broward County Superintendent Robert Runcie said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press." He called for more collaboration among authorities, especially for a pipeline of school records into gun background checks.

“Given what I’ve seen so far, we need a smarter system,” Runcie said

When Cruz bought the gun in February from Sunrise Tactical Supply, state authorities who ran the check had no record of his mental health history or behavior at school.  

Cruz has a history of violence at school, according to county disciplinary records obtained by the USA TODAY Network. More than a dozen school officials, teachers and administrators had cited Cruz in at least 41 disciplinary incidents from May 2012 to January 2017.

Cruz was cited time and again for fighting, assaults, profane language, insults, detentions, suspensions, all on top of frequent referrals for threat assessments, family conferences and social work intervention.

Neighbors say his home life was in similar distress. Without giving details, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said last week his office received about 20 calls in the past few years about Cruz.

That number seemed low to witnesses who say deputies were frequently parked at the Cruz’s, noticeable on such a quiet street.  

A neighbor across the street called deputies after seeing Cruz post online about buying guns just after his 18th birthday — around the same time of the DCF investigation.

“They told us they checked it out,” said Dave Brugman, 59. “You can’t watch him every day.”

Brugman got extra security installed around his house after he suspected Cruz poisoned his dog in the dark hours of the night at least three different times. He also thinks Cruz put a brick through his car window on one occasion.

USA Today reporter Mike Sallah contributed to this report.