It's been learned that officials were so concerned about the mental stability of the teen accused of killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland last month, that they decided he should be involuntarily committed, but the recommendation was never acted upon. According to documents in the criminal case against Nikolas Cruz, a sheriff's deputy recommended in September 2016 that Cruz be committed for a mental evaluation. That deputy was Scot Peterson, the school resource officer who retired rather than be suspended after failing to go into the school as the shooting was happening. The documents show that Cruz had written the word "kill" in a notebook, told a classmate that he wanted to buy a gun and use it, and had cut his arm supposedly in anger because he had broken up with a girlfriend. Calls had even been made to the FBI about the possibility of Cruz using a gun at school. Experts say an involuntary commitment would have been a huge red flag had Cruz attempted to buy a firearm legally.
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MIAMI (AP) — Officials were so concerned about the mental stability of the student accused of last month's Florida school massacre that they decided he should be forcibly committed.
But the recommendation was never acted upon.
A commitment under the law would have made it more difficult if not impossible for Cruz to obtain a gun legally.