An NBCNews examination of the Aztec High School shooting found a series of missed opportunities that point to what some experts say are nationwide shortcomings in how authorities respond to potentially violent domestic extremists.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev — and closed the case — two years before he orchestrated the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
“There are a ton of warning signs that we know from research are predictors of violence,” she said. “This was clearly a young man in need of some serious intervention.” San Juan County Sheriff Ken Christesen said after the shooting, “It’s a shame he wasn’t on our radar.” Peter Langman, who has spent a career studying mass shooters and has done consulting work for the FBI, agreed.
Even if the FBI didn’t pursue its own criminal case, he said, the bureau should have passed along information about Atchison’s mass shooting threat to his former high school. The FBI did alert Aztec police, but the police department never interviewed Atchison, court records show. Schweit and other experts say the FBI gets thousands of tips every year about people who have said or done things suggesting they might commit violent acts. Most don’t lead to arrests — or violence.