By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com
The FBI was alerted to an alarming comment on YouTube from a user named Nikolas Cruz, who posted months ago that he planned to become a “professional school shooter,” according to a Mississippi man.
Ben Bennight, a bail bondsman, said he flagged the comment on YouTube last fall and emailed a screenshot to the FBI, who paid him a visit and asked whether he knew the commenter.
“They came to my office the next morning and asked me if I knew anything about the person,” Bennight told BuzzFeed News. “I didn’t. They took a copy of the screenshot and that was the last I heard from them.”
Cruz opened fire with an AR-15 Wednesday at a Florida high school, killing at least 17 people.
Bennight said he was contacted again by the FBI after the shooting.
“I would like to think that they were already investigating this guy and they had him on the top of their radar and that’s how they ended up contacting me so quickly,” Bennight said.
It’s unclear how seriously the FBI took the threat and whether agents talked to Cruz.
The bureau declined to comment.
Cruz’s YouTune account was active until Wednesday evening, when it was finally deleted.
