PARKLAND, Fla. (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Friday it had failed to act on a tip warning that the man now accused of killing 17 people at a Florida high school possessed a gun, the desire to kill and the potential to commit a school shooting. 
 
 The disclosure sparked angry disbelief from residents of the Miami suburb of Parkland still reeling from Wednesday’s massacre, the deadliest shooting ever at a U.S. high school, and led Florida’s governor to call for the FBI chief to resign. 
 
 A person described as someone close to accused gunman Nikolas Cruz, 19, called an FBI tip line on Jan. 5, weeks before the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, to report concerns about him, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. 
 
 “The caller provided information about 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,” it said. 
 
 That information should have been forwarded to the FBI’s Miami field office for further investigation, but “we have determined that these protocols were not followed,” the agency said. 
 
 U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he has ordered a review of FBI procedures following the shooting, carried out by a gunman armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and numerous ammunition cartridges. 
 
 “We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement. 
 
 The mishandled information followed a tip to the FBI in September about a YouTube comment in which a person named Nikolas Cruz said, “I’m going to be a professional school shooter.” The FBI said it investigated that comment but was unable to trace its origins, closing the inquiry until Cruz surfaced in connection with Wednesday’s mass shooting. 
 
 The FBI’s lapse regarding the Jan. 5 tip was met with anger in Florida after U.S. President Donald Trump made remarks seeming to chastise local residents for failing to alert authorities to Cruz’s sometimes erratic and violent behavior prior to Wednesday’s shooting rampage. 
 
 Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. 
 
 Florida Governor Rick Scott said Wray, appointed to head the FBI by Trump last year after the president fired James Comey, should step down over the agency’s blunder. 
 
 “The FBI’s failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable,” Scott, a Republican, said in a statement. “We constantly promote ‘See something, say something,’ and a courageous person did just that to the FBI. And the FBI failed to act.” 
 
 The FBI separately has been criticized by some Republicans over its investigation of issues relating to Russia and the 2016 presidential election. 
 
 At the funeral on Friday for massacre victim Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old senior, family friend Jeff Richman expressed dismay at the FBI’s failure. 
 
 “The FBI apologized? Tell that to families,” said Richman, 53, an advertising executive who lives in Parkland. 
 
 Broward County’s chief public defender, Howard Finkelstein, was quoted by the South Florida Sun Sentinel newspaper as saying that Cruz’s legal team planned to meet with prosecutors to offer a guilty plea in exchange for a life prison term. 
 
 “There is only one question: ‘Should this young man live or die by execution?’” Finkelstein told the Sun Sentinel. “We believe it’s in nobody’s best interest to go through a circus of a trial.” 
 
 The public defender’s office could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment. 
 
 Participants hold placards with the names of victims of the shooting in Parkland, Florida, during a candlelight vigil at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. February 16, 2018. REUTERS/Joe Skipper 
 
 “KIDS DON’T NEED GUNS” 
 
 The massacre has raised concerns about potential lapses in school security and stirred the ongoing U.S. debate pitting proponents of tougher restrictions on firearms against advocates for gun rights, which are protected by the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. 
 
 Authorities acknowledged that the tips to the FBI were not the only indications that Cruz was troubled. 
 
 Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told a news conference his office had received about 20 “calls for service” in the last few years regarding Cruz and would scrutinize all of them to see if they were handled properly. 
 
 Israel indicated law enforcement should not be held responsible for Wednesday’s tragedy. “The only one to blame for this killing is the killer himself,” he said. 
 
 Some political leaders including Trump have said mental illness prompted the shooting. Cruz had been expelled for undisclosed disciplinary reasons from the school where the attack occurred. Former classmates have described him as a social outcast trouble-maker with a fascination for weaponry. 
 
 Some relatives and friends of shooting victims blamed Florida’s lenient gun laws, which allow an 18-year-old to buy an assault rifle. Outside a vigil on Friday, a sign read: “Kids don’t need guns. No guns under 21.” 
 
 The outpouring of grief was reflected in a multitude of prayer services and vigils on Friday - a total of six at various places of worship in and around Parkland. Funerals for at least two victims were also held. 
 
 Late in the day, the Republican president and first lady Melania Trump visited a hospital where survivors from the shooting were treated, meeting privately with victims and medical staff. 
 
 “The job they’ve done is incredible and I want to congratulate you,” the president said as he shook one doctor’s hand in front of reporters afterward. Trump did not respond when asked if the nation’s gun laws needed to be changed, then walked into another room. 
 
 He later appeared at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, along with the governor and other politicians, offering praise to first responders for the “great job you’ve done.” 
 
 Slideshow (28 Images) 
 
 The vice mayor of Broward County, a strongly Democratic area, earlier blasted any visit by Trump, saying Republicans had failed to back common-sense gun laws and rolled back measures restricting severely mentally ill people from buying weapons. ||||| On January 5, 2018, a person close to Nikolas Cruz contacted the FBI’s Public Access Line (PAL) tipline to report concerns about him. The caller provided information about 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. 
 
 Under established protocols, the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life. The information then should have been forwarded to the FBI Miami Field Office, where appropriate investigative steps would have been taken. 
 
 We have determined that these protocols were not followed for the information received by the PAL on January 5. The information was not provided to the Miami Field Office, and no further investigation was conducted at that time. 
 
 FBI Director Christopher Wray said: 
 
 “We are still investigating the facts. I am committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in this particular matter, as well as reviewing our processes for responding to information that we receive from the public. It’s up to all Americans to be vigilant, and when members of the public contact us with concerns, we must act properly and quickly. 
 
 “We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy. All of the men and women of the FBI are dedicated to keeping the American people safe, and are relentlessly committed to improving all that we do and how we do it.” ||||| Nikolas Cruz cut his arms on Snapchat and said he wanted to buy a gun in September 2016, more than a year before he was accused of killing 17 people in a school in Parkland, Florida, records obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel show. 
 
 The incident on the digital social network prompted an investigation by sheriff’s deputies and adult welfare investigators from the Department of Children & Family Services. 
 
 The documents provide further evidence that Cruz was a troubled teen who repeatedly went without help before he stalked the halls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 rifle on Wednesday. 
 
 In another stunning example, the FBI acknowledged Friday that it ignored a tip last month that Cruz was at risk of committing a school shooting. 
 
 A person close to Cruz contacted an FBI national tipline on Jan. 5 with concerns about the young man’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,” the agency said in a news release. 
 
 The information should have been sent to the FBI Miami Field Office but was never forwarded, officials said. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday ordered an investigation of how the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI handled the matter. 
 
 DCF investigation 
 
 The DCF investigation came four days after Cruz’s 18th birthday, meaning he could legally purchase a rifle. 
 
 “Mr. Cruz has fresh cuts on both his arms. Mr. Cruz stated he plans to go out and buy a gun. It is unknown what he is buying the gun for,” the DCF report reads. 
 
 Investigators concluded there were “some implications” for Cruz’s safety but determined he was receiving adequate support from his school and outpatient care from Henderson Mental Health in Broward County. 
 
 About five months later, he bought the AR-15. 
 
 Cruz came under DCF’s supervision and care because he was classified as a vulnerable adult due to mental illness. 
 
 “[Cruz’s] final level of risk is low as [he] resides with his mother, attends school and receives counseling through Henderson,” the DCF investigator wrote. 
 
 Cruz’s lawyers said the report is the clearest evidence yet that the system failed not only their client but also the murder victims, their families and the wider community. 
 
 “All of this could have been prevented,” said Melisa McNeill, the Broward assistant public defender who is leading the defense. “It makes me sick to my stomach because there are 17 people, including numerous children, who are dead and several others who are injured.” 
 
 The attorneys said the Snapchat incident alerted at least four local agencies — DCF, the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the Broward school district and Henderson Behavioral Health, one of the largest mental health providers in the county — that Cruz was in crisis and posed a potential danger to himself and others. 
 
 “Every single red flag was being thrown up by this kid, four days after his 18th birthday, and nothing was done to help him,” said Chief Assistant Public Defender Gordon Weekes. “This community has been devastated. The system didn’t only fail him, it failed the entire community.” 
 
 A mobile crisis unit from Henderson had been called out at some time in the past to figure out whether Cruz needed to be committed for psychiatric treatment under the Baker Act, the DCF report said. No date for that visit was provided and he was not committed. 
 
 His mother, Lynda Cruz, told investigators that her son had been diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He was being treated for depression, had a behavioral disorder and had been taking medication for the ADHD, the report said. Investigators wrote that they did not know whether he was still taking the medication. 
 
 Cruz’s mother told investigators his behavior was linked to “a breakup with a girl who was cheating on [him].” She and the girl’s mom had told the teens they “had to end the relationship because it was unhealthy for everyone.” 
 
 Cruz began cutting himself after his relationship broke up, his mother said. 
 
 She said her son did not have a firearm. She said she had confiscated his air gun because he didn’t follow house rules about only shooting it “within the backyard and at targets.” It was unclear precisely what he was doing. 
 
 Cruz had “hate signs” — including a Nazi symbol and the words “I hate N------” — drawn on his book bag at some point in the past, according to his mother and a counselor. His mother told investigators that she made her son remove the symbols and that their family was not racist. 
 
 A counselor told investigators that a mobile crisis unit had been called out to the school “and determined he was not at risk to harm himself or others.” Cruz had gotten into a fight with a boy over a girl, the counselor said. 
 
 The team from Henderson found Cruz “stable enough not to be hospitalized.” 
 
 The school resource officer, a sheriff’s deputy, refused to share any information with the investigator “regarding the incident that took place” with Cruz but confirmed that Henderson staff came to the school, assessed Cruz and did not hospitalize him. 
 
 In a statement emailed Friday, a DCF spokeswoman wrote: “Based on the information at this time, this individual had no involvement with Florida’s child welfare system, including foster care.” 
 
 “Other information related to this individual as an adult is confidential. … According to Florida law, a court must order the release of these records. In the spirit of full transparency, the department has petitioned the court to be allowed to release any and all records we have on this individual,” Jessica K. Sims wrote. 
 
 FBI tips 
 
 The FBI tipster was at least the second to warn the agency about Cruz. A video blogger in Mississippi revealed this week that he alerted the FBI four months earlier, in September, when a commenter named Nikolas Cruz wrote “I’m going to be a professional school shooter” on YouTube. ||||| Florida's Republican Gov. Rick Scott is calling on FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign, after the FBI admitted it received a tip about the suspect in the Parkland shooting as recently as January, but failed to follow through on it. 
 
 The FBI admitted in a statement Friday that it received a call on Jan. 5 detailing concerns about Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old law enforcement officials believe is responsible for the deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this week. The FBI determined "protocols were not followed" when a tip was phoned into the FBI's public access line, but was never forwarded to the FBI's Miami field office and received no further investigation. 
 
 Scott called that "unacceptable" in a statement he issued Friday. 
 
 "The FBI's failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable," Scott said. "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," Scott continued. "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." 
 
 Wray's bureau is already under fire from the Trump administration over the Russia probe — which saw new indictments Friday against 13 Russians who tried to influence the 2016 presidential election — as well as over the surveillance of former Trump campaign official Carter Page. 
 
 January was also not the first time law enforcement received information about Cruz. A YouTube user told CBS News he reported a post that he believes was from the suspect to the FBI back in September. 
 
 Attorney General Jeff Sessions noted the FBI's failures in a statement Friday. He has ordered Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to "conduct an immediate review" of the Justice Department's and FBI's approach to reviewing violent threats. 
 
 "It is now clear that the warning signs were there and tips to the FBI were missed," Sessions said. "We see the tragic consequences of those failures. The FBI in conjunction with our state and local partners must act flawlessly to prevent all attacks. This is imperative, and we must do better." 
 
 Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, called for congressional investigations of the FBI's failure. 
 
 "It is inexcusable that the FBI failed to follow protocols and inform the Miami Field Office that people close to the Parkland, FL shooter warned the bureau over a month ago of his desire to kill, his mental state, and erratic behavior," Rubio said in a statement. 
 
 "The fact that the FBI is investigating this failure is not enough. Both the House and Senate need to immediately initiate their own investigations into the FBI's protocols for ensuring tips from the public about potential killers are followed through. Lawmakers and law enforcement personnel constantly remind the public that 'if you see something, say something.' In this tragic case, people close to the shooter said something, and our system utterly failed the families of seventeen innocent souls." 
 
 Scott is considering a Senate bid in Florida to replace Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat.
– A tip about one "Nikolas Cruz" had been investigated by the FBI back in September, though nothing seems to have come out of it. Now CBS News and NBC News are reporting on a new admission from the FBI that "protocols were not followed" for a separate tip about the Parkland shooting suspect received early last month. Someone said to be close to Cruz called the FBI's Public Access Line on Jan. 5 and offered info on "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," per an FBI release. However, although the info from that call should have placed Cruz on a "potential threat to life" list, spurring further local investigation, that never happened. "I am committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in this particular matter, as well as reviewing our processes for responding to information that we receive from the public," FBI Director Christopher Wray says. He adds that the FBI has spoken with survivors and victims' families and "deeply [regrets] the additional pain this causes." The FBI currently has a dedicated webpage set up regarding the shooting for people to send tips to.