What to Know
- The state commission is beginning a three-day meeting that will include a discussion on how schools assess threats.
- Also on the agenda are 911 and emergency dispatch systems, Florida's gun purchase laws and mental health programs as the commission meets.
The state commission investigating the Parkland high school massacre is beginning a three-day meeting that will include a discussion on how schools assess threats - while learning that the suspect's late mother allowed him to buy a gun even though his mental health counselors opposed the idea.
The chairman of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, told members Tuesday that Lynda Cruz was "an enabler" who interfered with efforts to get her son Nikolas treatment.
"His mother contributed to this significantly," Gualtieri said. "Counselors said he shouldn't have a gun...mother said if he wants a gun, he can have a gun."
Lynda Cruz died in November. Investigators say her 19-year-old son killed 17 at Stoneman Douglas three months later.
The commission concluded that while Nikolas Cruz was referred to the PROMISE program - created as a diversion program for Broward sudents - after breaking a sink handle in middle school, he would have still been able to buy a gun had been charged with a crime instead.
Also on the agenda are 911 and emergency dispatch systems, Florida's gun purchase laws and mental health programs as the commission meets through Thursday.
The commission meets monthly and is composed of law enforcement, education and mental health officials along with legislators and the parents of student victims. It will prepare a report by Jan. 1.
