Not american: so here is a question

Can someone explain to me how this works?:

I am Always wondering why Columbine was handled mainly by JeffcO and not by Fedral law inforcement, such as the FBI. As a foreigner, I don't know how it works, but clearly county law inforcement didn't had the proper means and wasn't competent enough to investigate.

I Always assumed in big cases like this the FBI would take over all the investigation. I hope it's not a stupid question:oops: 

I do believe the FBI had a large part in handling the case after the shooting was over. Unfortunately, It was JeffCo that was in charge while the massacre was in progress. The only reason they were in charge was because, it happened in their jurisdiction, and they were quiet incapable of handling a situation like that.

Lifetime wrote:

I do believe the FBI had a large part in handling the case after the shooting was over. Unfortunately, It was JeffCo that was in charge while the massacre was in progress. The only reason they were in charge was because, it happened in their jurisdiction, and they were quiet incapable of handling a situation like that.  

But I am still under the impression that JeffCo still was very much involved in the aftermath.

tragedy79 wrote:

Lifetime wrote:

I do believe the FBI had a large part in handling the case after the shooting was over. Unfortunately, It was JeffCo that was in charge while the massacre was in progress. The only reason they were in charge was because, it happened in their jurisdiction, and they were quiet incapable of handling a situation like that.  

But I am still under the impression that JeffCo still was very much involved in the aftermath.

Yeah, you're right, they were still involved after the massacre, but it was mostly to try and cover things up and protect their asses. I don't think that really count's as being a part of the investigation. I mean, did Sheriff Stone ever really uncover anything? He seemed to mostly just get in the way. If anything, JeffCo should have been "under" investigation not a part of it. And there were also a lot of other police departments involved afterwards as well.

The FBI will get involved if there is a violation of federal law, if someone has crossed state lines in the commission of a crime, if a federal employee or contract is involved, or if a bank with an interstate charter is robbed.

Obviously, Columbine does not fall under these categories, but sometimes the FBI will get involved if a case has national importance or if it seems that a federal investigation could uncover information that might be nationally relevant. The FBI's investigation into Columbine, for example, was used to produce a national threat assessment report.

lasttrain wrote:

The FBI will get involved if there is a violation of federal law, if someone has crossed state lines in the commission of a crime, if a federal employee or contract is involved, or if a bank with an interstate charter is robbed.

Obviously, Columbine does not fall under these categories, but sometimes the FBI will get involved if a case has national importance or if it seems that a federal investigation could uncover information that might be nationally relevant.  The FBI's investigation into Columbine, for example, was used to produce a national threat assessment report.

That explanation actually clears a lot of things up for me!