(NewsNation) — Plainville, Connecticut, Police Chief Christopher Vanghele said more should have been done in response to a previous threat officers questioned the suspected Apalachee High School gunman about last year.
Vanghele was part of the Newton, Connecticut, police team that responded to the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
“People don’t want to hear … there could have been a chance to stop this,” Vanghele said.
The 14-year-old suspect is charged as an adult in the shooting Wednesday that killed students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53, according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey. Nine others were wounded in the gunfire that took place in the hallway outside the suspect’s algebra class, The Associated Press reported.
The FBI received anonymous tips in May 2023 about online threats to commit an unspecified school shooting, the agency said in a statement.
The FBI narrowed the threats down and referred the case to the sheriff’s department in Jackson County. The sheriff’s office interviewed the then-13-year-old and his father, who said there were hunting guns in the house but that the teen did not have unsupervised access to them.
The teenager also denied making any online threats.
The sheriff’s office alerted local schools to monitor the teen, but officers didn’t have enough to arrest him or take additional action, the FBI said.
“One of the things I’m looking at now is: What did this person say in his past threats?” Vanghele said. “What could have been done to stop it?”
He also questioned the high school’s security measures.
The suspect reportedly left class Wednesday and had been locked out of the room when he returned. Some students went to open the door but instead backed away, the AP reported.
The teen then turned the gun on people in a hallway, authorities said.
“He wasn’t allowed back in because the doors lock automatically, which is great security protocol, but nonetheless, he was allowed to leave to get a weapon,” Vanghele said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.