FBI Received Tips About The Georgia High School Shooter Last Year

The FBI admitted on Wednesday night that they received tips last year about the suspect who shot up Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday, but said that they did not have probable cause to make an arrest.

Authorities arrested a 14-year-old male suspect after four were killed and nine others were wounded during the shooting.

The FBI’s Atlanta field office said in a statement that in May 2023, “the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center received several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting at an unidentified location and time.”

“The online threats contained photographs of guns,” the statement said. “Within 24 hours, the FBI determined the online post originated in Georgia and the FBI’s Atlanta Field Office referred the information to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office for action.”

“The Jackson County Sheriffs’ Office located a possible subject, a 13-year-old male, and interviewed him and his father,” the statement continued. “The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them. The subject denied making the threats online. Jackson County alerted local schools for continued monitoring of the subject.”

The FBI said that there was “no probable cause for arrest” and that no additional law enforcement action could be taken by local, state, or federal authorities.

The FBI added in a follow-up to their statement: “To confirm, the subject referred to as the 13 year old is the same subject in custody related to today’s shootings at Apalachee High School.”

To confirm, the subject referred to as the 13 year old is the same subject in custody related to today’s shootings at Apalachee High School.

— FBI Atlanta (@FBIAtlanta) September 5, 2024

The school received a threatening phone call earlier in the day warning that the school would be the first target in a string of shootings aimed at five different schools. State law enforcement officials said that there were no shootings at other schools.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey said that school resource officers confronted the shooter, causing him to immediately surrender and be taken into custody.

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