The FBI said on Friday that a tip it received about the gunman charged in the Florida high school shootings should have caused him to be assessed as a threat, but proper protocols were not followed and the information was not sent to its Miami office for follow-up.

The law enforcement agency said in a statement that it received a call on a tip line from a person close to Nikolas Cruz, charged in the shooting deaths on Wednesday of 17 people, 14 of them students, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland.

The caller provided information on "Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts, as well as the potential of him conducting a school shooting," the FBI said in a statement.

The information should have been assessed "as a potential threat to life," the FBI said. But it wasn't forwarded for investigation to the FBI's Miami field office. "No further investigation was conducted at that time," the FBI said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement, "We are still investigating the facts. I am committed to getting to the bottom of what happened in this particular matter, as well as reviewing our processes for responding to information that we receive from the public."

He added, "We have spoken with victims and families, and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy."

REUTERS