FBI meets with Parkland families, 'apologetic' and 'appalled' over bungled tips
The FBI called grieving families two days after the Feb. 14 Parkland massacre, compounding their pain by informing them the agency had bungled tips about the school shooter who killed 17. And then, for nearly 10 months, silence.
Until last weekend, when relatives of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High shooting victims finally got the chance to confront the federal agency tasked with investigating threats and protecting the public. Skeptical and weary, the families braced for a potentially explosive meeting they first requested in June.
For two hours on Dec. 8, FBI deputy director David Bowdich — the bureau’s second-ranking official after director Christopher Wray — met with families at the South Florida field office in Miramar. Attendees say the session was a heartfelt back-and-forth. Bowdich listened to families’ concerns, answered questions and laid out steps the FBI has taken to prevent the same mistakes from happening again.
“They were apologetic at times,” said Tony Montalto, whose 14-year-old daughter Gina was killed. “But there’s an open wound for all of us.”
Read more: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-ne-florida-school-shooting-fbi-meeting-families-bungled-tip-20181214-story.html