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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsQuestion about Cruz (Parkland shooter) and what the Police were supposed to do?
I keep hearing that the FBI and Police missed many red flags with Cruz. People (mostly neighbors) and possibly school officials reported his violent behaviors to both local Sheriff's office and the FBI. But what exactly were they supposed to do?
There aren't laws saying if someone is behaving oddly or even violently that they can come and take their guns. They can't just arrest the guy for behaving oddly. Plus most of the time he was a juvenile when he was being reported which have even more restrictions for what police could do.
Many people want to blame authorities for his shooting rampage...but I don't know what they really could have done without laws in place that supported them making moves to take his guns away or to not be able to buy those guns in the first place.
B2G
(9,766 posts)mainstreetonce
(4,178 posts)Proof existed of specific threats of violence. He could have been charged. That should have stopped the gun purchase.
B2G
(9,766 posts)if he already had them. Absolutely.
redstatebluegirl
(12,265 posts)We have notified the police more than once, and they keep telling us there is nothing they can do because acting odd or being angry all the time is not enough. Plus us telling them he has made threats to family is not enough. It is harder than you think.
Weed Man
(304 posts)Voluntary or involuntary, your family member needed help.
SharonAnn
(13,775 posts)Probably an average of once a month. The family is heartbroken and at their wits end. But until he does something that would get him arrested, there doesn't seem to be a way to force him into treatment.
I'm not saying that it should be easy to do that, but it wouldn't surprise us if he goes off the deep end once of these days, though he's more likely to kill himself than others. Still ... there seems to be little that can be done other than use the 72 hour hold to get him out of crisis mode. It's really heartbreaking.
Weed Man
(304 posts)It's really heartbreaking to see the kids abused and needing help to get through their ordeal. I don't deal with the kids on a daily basis, but support the teachers and staff.
HeartachesNhangovers
(814 posts)The police should have advised someone there to get a restraining order (or the school if threats had been made against the school). Then, (according to the US Justice Dept at: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-ut/legacy/2013/06/03/protection%20order%20and%20VAWA%20misdemeanor.pdf):
"Federal law generally prohibits a person who is the subject of a qualifying protection order from possessing a firearm or ammunition...".
Once the order is in place, the police remove all the firearms and ammo. Too much work to process all that paperwork, I guess. More important things to do.
old guy
(3,283 posts)In this case I can't fault the police too much.