«The police, federal law enforcement cannot be on every street corner and every school at every kitchen table.”
Former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said Sunday that the FBI has “a lot” on its plate and that there “is a role for the public to play” in preventing violence like the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last week.
“I think that it’s for the FBI to tell us whether there are adequate resources,” he said during an ABC interview when asked if the agency had the “manpower” to follow up on tips like those they received months ago about Nikolas Cruz, the 19-year-old responsible for the Parkland shooting.
“They are the premier federal law enforcement agency of our country. They’ve got a lot on their plate,” Johnson said. “There is also a role for the public to play… We are not a police state. The police, federal law enforcement, cannot be on every street corner and every school at every kitchen table.”
“So when we see someone turning to violence — and this was apparently the case here — people should be encouraged to say something when they see suspicious behavior.”
Johnson’s comments follow a statement released by the FBI on Friday stating the agency failed to follow proper protocol after it received a tip about Nikolas Cruz’s desire to kill in January of this year.
According to the statement, the FBI was warned about Cruz through its public tipline on Jan. 5,2018, but the FBI never reported the comment to its Miami field office or investigated it further.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has called for the resignation of FBI Director Christopher Wray in the wake of the Parkland shooting.
“Seventeen innocent people are dead and acknowledging a mistake isn’t going to cut it,» Scott 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 Director needs to resign.”
Shots were fired last Wednesday at the south Florida high school. The shooting left 16 injured and 17 dead.
