FBI director: Texas shooting highlights concern over lone actors

FBI Director Christopher Wray said that Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is the latest example highlighting the bureau’s concerns about the risks posed by lone-wolf actors.

“Unfortunately, this tragedy, as well as the recent tragedy in Buffalo and way too many before, reinforced what we in the FBI have been so concerned about for so long, and that is the threat of lone actors,” Wray told lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday during a review of the agency’s budget.

“It’s that threat that we continue to be most concerned about here in the homeland,” he added.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security last year deemed lone-wolf actors as posing the greatest terror threat as incidents of domestic extremism steadily rise.

Wray went on to suggest some support for state-level laws that allow a judge to approve the temporary seizure of firearms from those believed to present a danger to themselves or others.

The FBI chief said that whether it’s so-called red or yellow flag laws or simply tips to law enforcement, “most of the time you see that there was someone who knew the person or came into contact with the person who saw some change in behavior that alarmed them.”

The director also encouraged the public to take a broader view of the directive “if you see something, say something.”

“Most people when they hear that, they picture the unattended backpack, you know, in the Greyhound bus terminal or something. But what we really need right now in this country is if you see something about somebody [for] people to say something,” Wray said.