(CN) - The FBI acknowledged Friday that it failed to act on a tip in January that accused Florida gunman Nikolas Cruz owned a firearm and might conduct a school shooting.
"We have determined that ... protocols were not followed for the information received, the agency said in a statement released via Twitter. "The information was not provided to the FBI Miami field office, and no further investigation was conducted at that time."
According to the statement, a person close to Nikolas Cruz contacted the FBI’s public accessvline 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," the FBI said.
The FBI says had established protocols been followed, "appropriate investigative steps would have been taken."
“We are still investigating the facts," FBI Director Christopher Wray said in the statement. "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."
Law enforcement officials said Friday morning that Cruz, 19, has confessed to killing 17 people with a semiautomatic rifle during a six-minute attack on Parkland, Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Wednesday afternoon.
Wray said representatives of the FBI have spoken with the families of the dead and the surviving victims of the shooting incident, and that "[we] 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,” Wray said.
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