FBI director facing calls to resign after agency admits it failed to act on tip off about Florida shooter

FBI director Christopher Wray was last night facing calls to quit after the organisation admitted it failed to act on a tip off it received about the suspect in the Florida high school shooting.

Rick Scott , the Florida Governor, said Mr Wray "[needed] to resign" over the "unacceptable" failings after the intelligence agency revealed it was warned that the suspect, Nikolas Cruz, had a "desire to kill people" almost six weeks ago

The FBI's stunning admission has raised questions over whether it could have prevented Wednesday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which left 17 people dead.

Mr Scott hit out at the intelligence agency in highly critical statement, saying the "FBI's failure to take action against this killer is unacceptable".

"An apology will never bring these 17 Floridians back to life or comfort the families who are in pain."

Florida senator Marco Rubio also criticised the FBI, saying it was "inexcusable" that the bureau did not follow protocols and called for Congress to launch its own investigations into what happened.

The FBI said a person close to the 19-year-old Cruz contacted the agency with concerns about his social media posts and his possession of firearms on January 5 but agents neglected to pass the information on to its Florida branch. 

"Under established protocols, the information provided by the caller should have been assessed as a potential threat to life," the FBI said. 

"The information then should have been forwarded to the FBI Miami field office, where appropriate investigative steps would have been taken. We have determined that these protocols were not followed."

On Thursday, it was revealed that the FBI was separately warned in September that a YouTube user with the same name as Cruz had threatened to become a "professional school shooter".

Ben Bennight, a 36-year-old YouTube video blogger from Mississippi, told CNN he contacted the agency after a comment by a user with the name Nikolas Cruz left the alarming comment on a video he had posted.

Mr Wray, the FBI's director, said the bureau is continuing to investigate how the oversight occurred.

"We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy," Mr Wray said in the statement. 

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"All of the men and women of the FBI are dedicated to keeping the American people safe, and are relentlessly committed to improving all that we do and how we do it."

The massacre in Parkland, Florida, was one of the deadliest school shootings in US history and has stirred debate about the country's school security and the right to buy guns.

Donald Trump is expected to travel to the small, middle class community to meet the victims' families, but he may not receive a warm reception.

The US president has been criticised for failing to mention guns during his national address following the tragedy. 

Instead Mr Trump linked the shooting to mental illness, suggesting that it was the public's responsibility to warn officials of such dangers.

Cruz, who had been expelled from the school where he allegedly staged his attack for undisclosed disciplinary reasons, made a brief court appearance on Thursday. He has confessed to being the gunman, police said.

"He's a broken human being," his lawyer, Melissa McNeill, told reporters. "He's sad, he's mournful, he's remorseful."