Parkland Suspect to Police: 'I'm Dealing With a Bunch of Things'

Dozens of calls to FBI, 911 regarding Nikolas Cruz released, including 1 from suspect himself
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2018 10:09 AM CST
Caller Told FBI Parkland Suspect 'Is Going to Explode'
Nikolas Cruz leaves court after a status hearing before Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Monday, Feb. 19, 2018.   (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

“I know he’s—he’s going to explode," an unidentified caller told the FBI on Jan. 5, less than six weeks before authorities say Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people at a school in Parkland, Florida. The Wall Street Journal obtained a transcript of the call, which the FBI has admitted wasn't given to its Miami field office for investigation as it should have been. The caller said Cruz is going to "get into a school and just shoot the place up," adding the 19-year-old has the mental capacity of someone who's 12 or 14. “Something is gonna happen,” the caller said. “Because he’s, he doesn’t have the mental capacity.” The caller said Cruz used his late-mother's Social Security money to buy "all these rifles and ammunition" and she's calling because she wants a "clear conscience if he takes off and, and just starts shooting places up."

Local law enforcement also released tapes and logs of 23 911 calls regarding Cruz made over the past 10 years, NPR reports. Fifteen of the calls were made by Cruz's late-mother, and the Broward County Sheriff's Office's response to two of the calls is being investigated. Two years before the Feb. 14 shooting, one caller said Cruz was planning to shoot up his school. A caller last November warned Cruz "is collecting guns" and "could be a school shooter in the making." One of the 911 calls came from Cruz himself after an altercation with the son of a woman with whom he was staying after his mother's death, according to WPTV. “The thing is, I lost my mother a couple days ago, so, like, I’m dealing with a bunch of things right now," Cruz said. The woman also made a 911 call during the incident, saying, "All he wants is his gun, and that's all he cares about is his gun." (More Parkland school shooting stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X