FBI Had Knowledge of Georgia High School Shooter Year Prior to Attack

The FBI’s failure to act on tips regarding the 14-year-old suspect behind the Apalachee High School shooting is yet another alarming example of federal incompetence. On Wednesday, a shooter killed four and wounded nine others at the Georgia high school, shaking the local community and leaving Americans once again questioning the ability of authorities to protect our schools.

The FBI admitted Wednesday night that it had received multiple anonymous tips over a year ago regarding the shooter’s threats of violence. The FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received these tips in May 2023, which included photos of guns and explicit warnings of a potential school shooting. Yet, despite this information, the agency claimed it did not have "probable cause" to make an arrest at the time.

Here’s what we know:

• In May 2023, the FBI was alerted to online threats mentioning a future school shooting. The posts included images of guns and other concerning content.

• The FBI traced the threats to Georgia and handed the case to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, who interviewed the suspect, a 13-year-old at the time, and his father. Despite concerns, they took no further action.

• The suspect, now 14, carried out the attack on Apalachee High School, killing four and injuring nine more before surrendering.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office claims the suspect’s father admitted to owning hunting guns but insisted the boy had no unsupervised access. The suspect denied making any threats, and in the absence of clear evidence, authorities claimed they had no grounds for an arrest. Still, local schools were warned to keep an eye on the boy a warning that clearly did not prevent this tragedy.

This isn’t the first time the FBI has failed to follow through on crucial tips, and the consequences are devastating. From the Parkland shooting to this horrific attack, the agency continues to show it’s out of touch with the threats faced by American schools.

While the FBI sits back, more innocent lives are lost due to bureaucratic red tape and a lack of urgency. Had the agency acted when it first received those warnings, four families would still have their loved ones today. It’s long past time for authorities to prioritize protecting our children over playing it safe with "probable cause" loopholes.

State officials have confirmed that there were no shootings at any of the other schools mentioned in the threatening call, which had warned of further violence at five locations. Fortunately, swift action by school resource officers brought the shooter into custody before more lives were taken.

Enough is enough. How many more red flags will the FBI ignore before taking real action? Americans deserve better, and our children deserve to be safe at school.

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