Hotel cook in California held on $500,000 bail after police say he threatened to kill employees, guests

Long Beach police say the suspect had multiple weapons, an assault rifle, tactical gear, dozens of high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammo.

FBI director warns lone gunmen are one of our biggest threats

"Seemingly, they are by homegrown U.S. citizens and acting in a lone wolf capacity, so the alarms are sounding and our government is becoming more and more concerned because when you think about post 9/11, our focus was oversees, and we were so concerned about who was going to come into our country and attack us next, and it is seemingly ironic how the pendulum has turned and now we are more concerned about one of us turning against our own," said Stuart Kaplan, former FBI agent.

FBI wants public, law enforcement to identify signs someone is planning act of extremist violence

"Law enforcement really thought that they could basically do it alone without necessarily the public's input. What we have seen evolve certainly past 9-11, this is a group effort," said Stuart Kaplan, former FBI Special Agent.

Prosecutors say DNA evidence links defendant to Jupiter triple murder

“So when you talk about Vorpagel, clearly I’m not so sure that I would consider him the star witness,” said former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan, who now practices criminal defense law in Palm Beach Gardens. “The star of this case is what a great job the Jupiter Police Department did in collecting the forensic evidence. We know Vasata had one of the two black gloves on his person. And then later on they discovered the black glove in the Honda."

Feds consider national security case against woman accused of trespassing into Mar-a-Lago

Federal prosecutors are developing a potential national security case against the 33-year-old Chinese woman accused of trespassing into Mar-a-Lago, the Miami Herald reported.

Stricter security at Mar-a-Lago as judge sets trial date for alleged intruder

“The Secret Service has certainly ratcheted up the level of security,” former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan said. “Certainly a drastic change from where it was several months ago.”

College freshman sneaks into Mar-a-Lago during presidential visit, documents show

“The seriousness really has to be appreciated that this is where the president is,” former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan said. “Obviously it was a somewhat failure by the secret service,” Kaplan said. “It can’t ever be a perfect world , because we’re left to humans to control the access points."

Pressure on FBI to release Florida election hacking information

Former FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan said investigators must have good reason for keeping the information private. "They don't want to expose their methods, and who they may be looking at [in an ongoing investigation]," Kaplan said.

FBI overhauls call center in wake of Parkland shooting

Former FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan says since Parkland, the agency has done a lot, including a top to bottom investigation, overhauling the system where tips come in and finally changing certain policies and procedures. “Clearly, the system worked,” Kaplan told us at his office Wednesday afternoon.

Remembering the Parkland shooting victims

Security in the spotlight after deadly shooting

Hospital security and our vulnerability while seeking medical care are top of mind Tuesday, a day after a shooting rampage at a hospital in Chicago. Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan talked to CBS12 News at 9 about what people can do if there is a threat at their hospital.

Good Morning Britain Interview with Form FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan

Former FBI agent weighs in on suspicious packages intercepted

“The fact that these packages have been intercepted and that we’ve been able to neutralize any potential casualties speaks volumes to the efforts of law enforcement,” Kaplan said. Luckily, no one has been injured by any of the explosive devices, but Kaplan said that certainly wasn’t the intent.

Stuart Kaplan on Shepard Smith Reporting 10/3/18 | Fox News Today October 3,2018

Lawmakers to lock FBI Kavanaugh report in safe, Several senators undecided on Kavanaugh vote, FBI nears completion of Kavanaugh investigation,

Fox News Afternoon Update: October 3, 2018

Former FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan gives us an inside look at how the agency investigates nominees like Brett Kavanaugh.

Security concerns arise for upcoming video game tournament after Jacksonville shooting

When the shots rang out during an online video game tournament in Jacksonville, some gamers ran. Others were shot before they could get away. Other gamers will gather to compete at the Microsoft Store this weekend for a tournament Friday and Saturday. “Have a plan in place if God forbid the worst case scenario happens,” Kaplan said.

Florida Atlantic University reschedules canceled graduation following threat

Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan said the school took the proper caution with the credible threat. Kaplan said when law enforcement receives a threat, they have to figure out if it is credible and reliable. “When you weigh the risk versus bringing all these people into a fixed environment, law enforcement made a decision with the college that it was better and safer to cancel this ceremony,” said Kaplan. He said FAU had to act quickly since FAU police said the note had targeted the graduation ceremony.

Authorities to increase security measures this 4th of July

Law enforcement has already thwarted one attack in Cleveland planned for the Fourth. Now, law enforcement agencies across the country are stepping up security measures to keep us safe. The festivities are set to begin in just over 24 hours. “It’s an example of our democracy, our way of life,” former FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan said. However, he says it’s also a day terrorists are looking to strike in the U.S. “So everything is on the table and every scenario has to be taken seriously,” Kaplan said.

Online plans to print 3-D guns concern dad of MSD shooting victim, law enforcement, politicians

“I think that you give an edge to the criminal," said Stuart Kaplan, former special agent for the FBI. "Or to a person who is in the planning or preparation stage to make it easier or more accessible for them to have a gun that is not even detectable or traceable, that presents an impact to our national security."

FBI study reveals majority of active shooters planned attack for a week or more

“If we are saying something to local law enforcement are they within, do they have the right resources? Or the tools at their disposals that they can go out and actually interview someone,” added Kaplan. Kaplan said in some cases, red flags reported to law enforcement are not concrete enough to have the person detained.

Air Force investigating after man gains access to South Florida military base; says it was a “prank”

Stuart Kaplan: “You never want to have anybody come onto an Air Force base, or any sort of military installation, because we maintain top secret type of information, equipment.”

Parkland school shooter bought rifle from Sunrise Tactical Supply last year

Sunrise Tactical Supply owners Michael and Lisa Morrison closed the store Thursday. They are represented by attorneys Stuart Kaplan and Douglas Rudman. More Parkland School Shooting Headlines Timeline of shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Who were the victims of the Parkland school shooting? Sea of candles fills park during Parkland school shooting vigil

Gun shop owners distraught over selling rifle to ‘maniac’ who killed 17 at school?

Stuart Kaplan, an attorney representing the corporate entity, Sunrise Tactical Supply, said shop owners ensured that Cruz filled out a firearms transactions record form, called an ATF Form 4473, that is issued by the Department of Justice. He included a copy of his driver’s license, his name, address, date of birth, sex, height, weight, and answered “no” to questions about whether he had been adjudicated for mental illness or whether he had been institutionalized for mental health illness, Kaplan said.

Nikolas Cruz passed background check, including mental health question, to get AR-15 rifle

Stuart Kaplan, an attorney representing the business, called for raising the age to 21 to purchase an AR-15 style weapon, but he said the law allowed for the weapon to be legally sold to a teenager at the time of sale.

MS-13 members targeting our schools, Trump remarks at round table

“The gang activities are now in our high schools, even in our middle schools,” Stuart Kaplan said, defense attorney and former FBI agent. “It’s interfering with children who want to go to school, and want to get an education. Unfortunately, they’re in fear because they are being targeted and that is a major problem.”

FactChecking Trump’s Criticism of the FBI

In a phone interview, Hunt told us he did not experience any instances of FBI agents placing someone under oath during an interview in his seven years at the agency. Stuart N. Kaplan, a former FBI agent for nearly 11 years who is now a lawyer in private practice, separately told us the same thing.

“When conducting interviews subjects/targets and or witnesses are NOT put under oath,” Kaplan said in an email. “As long as an FBI agent properly identifies him or herself and it’s in the official capacity of his job lying to that agent under 18 UCC 1001 is a crime.”

Kaplan emphasized that the false statements “must be intentional or intentionally misleading” for the subject to be charged with a crime. Clark noted that the false statement must be “material” to the investigation.

Gun sale goes wrong at Gardens Mall?

Stuart Kaplan, a former FBI agent, says if you find yourself in a potential life-threatening situation in a public place, like a mall, do your best to get out. “Hopefully we can take away that we are not immune from something happening here at home and we need to pay more attention to ourselves, to the people we’re with and also have a plan in place,” said Kaplan.

Trump celebrará Acción de Gracias en Mar-a-Lago

El yate, valorado en más de 400 millones de dólares, mide 500 pies, tiene una tripulación de 90 personas, e incluso cuenta con un submarino privado. Para el ex agente del FBI, Stuart Kaplan, la presencia de un submarino ruso en principio no dispara alarmas.

MS-13 linked to two local murders

“It’s almost like a cancer that is spreading, and that’s why you’re seeing this type of activity start to really hit home,” said Stuart Kaplan, a defense attorney from Palm Beach Gardens. Kaplan, a former FBI agent, knows the MS-13 gang from cases he investigated while working in New York. “They are very, very territorial,” Kaplan said.

Here's the best technology to use in an emergency

"I also have a watch for my son. That allows him to call me then I can also track him through that program as well," Stone says. "This is something we need to realize we need to embrace," says Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan. Kaplan uses a tracking device with his son. He says people need to embrace this technology for much more than just daily parenting. "I think it's been proven the United States is as vulnerable as any place and the United States is a potential target," Kaplan says.

Is Mar-A-Lago a high-value target for terror?

The Winter Whitehouse is President Trump’s preferred home to the celebrate the holidays. It’s a place Former FBI Special Agent, Stuart Kaplan knows well. “I am very familiar with the security that’s in place, it has been brought up to the level equal to the security of the White House,” said Kaplan.

No open event is immune: Expert Says

“We are now seeing that no place is immune from someone carrying out a horrific mass murder,” said Kaplan. He says if there is a sniper attack like in Las Vegas, the first thing you need to do is take cover.

DNA used to unmask Clown Murder suspect

Stuart Kaplan, a former FBI Special Agent, isn't surprised DNA technology enabled deputies to identify Keen as the prime suspect after 27 years. "With DNA processing and taking fiber samples, they're able to to pinpoint to a degree of accuracy such as a fingerprint."

Deeper look at home invasions in Palm Beach County

Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan says home invasions often turn violent if an attacker is caught off guard, unmasked, or if the homeowner fights back. “There are those situations, where someone may try to cover their tracks, because they’re easily recognizable, they don’t want leave where someone can identify them later,” Kaplan said.

Department of Homeland Security announces new aviation security measures

We’re trying to combine technology and human intelligence to combat any type of threat, with less disruption to the general public,” said security expert Stuart Kaplan with Kaplan & Sconzo Global Risk Management Group.

Possible security breach at event with Vice-President

Kaplan said the fact that the seating chart was found in a public place should be a large concern to the Secret Service. “The seating chart itself would be a very closely guarded confidential document that would only be disseminated from the secret service down to any individual on a need to know basis,” Kaplan said. “It would not be a document that would be published for the public, and it would only be given to those individuals who would need to know where these individuals are seated."

Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan talks about the recent terror attack in London

FBI, Coast Guard investigating Delray Beach woman missing at sea

The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed to WPTV Thursday afternoon that the agency is working with the FBI investigating the disappearance of Isabella Hellmann of Delray Beach. Former FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan Weighs in.

Preparing your family for the worst case scenario

Former FBI Special Agent, Stuart Kaplan, said talking to loved ones about situational awareness and having a plan of escape at a concert or sporting arena is crucial. When an attack hits, don’t run to the main exit, since that’s where everyone will go, and make sure your exit is not a dead end. “We know bathrooms have only one way in, and one way out, so that is a situation that I would try to avoid,” said Kaplan.

How safe are South Florida concert venues?

“It’s almost impossible to be a hundred percent secure,” Kaplan said. But there are still things you can do. Kaplan said the most important thing is to know your exit strategy. “Try to always visualize your plan and kind of walk yourself mentally through, if God forbid something would happen, what would I do? How would I extricate myself?” Kaplan said. “That time that you may safe because you have a plan in place may be the difference between life or death.”

Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan weighs in on Trump investigation

Attorney Stuart Kaplan on Former FBI Director James Comey

Local truck agencies on high alert after TSA report

"If you look historically over the last three years, we've had over 170 people killed," says former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan. Kaplan says terrorists may be looking for soft targets where there are large groups of people. He suspects law enforcement agencies are sending out similar warnings like the one received at Wayne Akers.

Security during presidential visits

Fomer FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan Discusses increased security during presidential visit

South Florida Muslim community reacts to renewed travel ban

Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan said the concern with those six nations is that their governments are in disarray, there is no military presence from the U.S. and they are terrorist strongholds. “I fully concur with the President’s decision,” Kaplan said. “It’s almost impossible to rely on those governments to properly vet those individuals.”

Photos taken at Mar-a-Lago under fire

"You have the president of the United States in basically a ballroom type of setting which is open to the general public," said security expert Stuart Kaplan. "Anybody who would have nefarious intent could certainly be in an earshot or eyeshot of capturing those communications." Records show Deagazio has two South Florida addresses. One in door man guarded building in Palm Beach and another in a gated Palm Beach Gardens community. WPBF called from the gate but the man who answered said Rick wasn't home. The woman Deagazio tagged in his post said he is a member of Mar-a-Lago and acquaintance she knows from "around town." She said her back was turned to trump and when Deagazio snapped those pictures. Unaware, she said, of the impending backlash. "It could have tremendous implications not only here domestically but abroad," said Kaplan.

President Trump in Palm Beach - Spanish

Traffic Stop gets attention of Dept. of Homeland Security

Stuart Kaplan, an attorney in Palm Beach Gardens and a former FBI agent, says the feds will no doubt be looking at every possibility. “Is this someone who is aiding and abetting some sort of terrorist organization? In the day and age we are living, we have to always be connecting the dots,” Kaplan said.

Donald Trump and Palm Beach County

"This is a unique situation,” said former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan. He takes one look at Mar-a-Lago and sees several risks. Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan. "Generally wide open to the general public. You have this access which is this beach, the water access which gives direct view, visual site into the property itself,” he said. “Then of course you have properties across from Mar-a-Lago itself so there are strategic issues that are going to need to be addressed."

President Trump in Palm Beach - Spanish

Widow of Pulse Nightclub gunman charged in connection to crime

A former FBI agent said the arrest of the wife of the man responsible for the massacre at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando shows federal authorities plan to charge who may be connected to the shootings. Stuart Kaplan is now an attorney in Palm Beach County. He said the arrest of Noor Salman on Monday means prosecutors believe Salman knew what her husband, Omar Mateen, planned to do. “When he texted her in the middle of carrying out this massacre, it was to no surprise,” Kaplan said. “And the text messages corroborate that.”

Family Tree Now lets anyone access your personal information for free

Former FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan said what Family Tree Now knows about you can make it easier for thieves to steal your identity. “If they get their hands on this information, certainly they can commit criminal acts against us that can have forever lasting consequences on our financial history,” said Kaplan.

President Trump in Palm Beach - Spanish

A former member of the FBI discusses the shooting Friday at FLL

New study raises questions over the effectiveness of police body cameras

WPTV's Law Enforcement Expert Stuart Kaplan is not surprised by the Milwaukee and Spokane studies. “After a few days, you become completely unaware of the fact that all of your actions are actually being captured on video,” he says. Kaplan believes the real issue is not the cameras - it's training. “If you should not have been a law enforcement officer in the first place, that video camera is not going to be necessarily a deterrent,” he says. Kaplan says the camera debate distracts from that issue.

President-elect's visit costs local law enforcement agencies

"It's a tremendous effort," said Stuart Kaplan, a former FBI agent. The Secret Service is the lead organization but federal agents can't do it all on their own. "Local law enforcement is really a very critical component to work with the Secret Service," Kaplan said. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deployed several deputies to work on traffic, perimeter and crowd control. "More visible police uniform presence is very import and very integral in protecting the president," Kaplan said.

Trump pasará Thanksgiving en su mansión de Florida

"Va a ser un examen de equilibrio para el Servicio Secreto, tendrán que equilibrar los protocolos a los que están acostumbrados para proteger al presidente sin molestar en demasía a los otros miembros que seguramente estarán ahí para disfrutar de esta festividad", dijo Stuart Kaplan, ex agente del FBI. El Aeropuerto Internacional de Palm Beach también se verá afectado cuando el presidente electo aterrice o despegue. "Todas las aeronaves en tierra deben detenerse y las que estén en vuelo deberán alterar su ruta por al menos 45 minutos para permitir que el avión que transporta al presidente electo, aterrice, Y hasta que ingrese o a un carro o a un helicóptero para llevarlo a Mar-a-lago", agregó Kaplan.

Trump presidency likely to impact local traffic, air travel, boating, security expert says

According to security expert Stuart Kaplan, the Secret Service will likely enforce a secure perimeter around the president-elect wherever he goes, including his Mar-a-Lago club on Palm Beach's Intracoastal Waterway. "There is going to be a perimeter of security to preclude boats from coming in and if anyone is planning to leave any activities in that immediate area would be suspended," said Kaplan, a Palm Beach Gardens-based attorney and former FBI special agent.

Concern over cyber security

“Obviously the biggest concern is that this will impact and dissuade people from going out and casting their vote because people will be concerned for their safety,” said Former FBI agent Stuart Kaplan. Kaplan says while Florida wasn’t the focus of those threats, people need to remain vigilant . “They need to pay attention to their surroundings. It could happen at any time in any place," said Kaplan.

Former FBI Special Agent Stuart Kaplan on Clinton emails

Former FBI agent on capture of suspected terrorist

Bombing suspect captured

Former FBI Agent Stuart Kaplan spoke with WPBF to help us understand how the NYC bombing suspect was caught and what's happening now. Tiffany Kenney reports.

NY, NJ bombings on the minds of local travelers

“If someone seems like they’re off the beat and path and they’re espousing anti-American sentiment, please bring it to the attention of law enforcement,” said Kaplan. Kaplan says it’s important to remember an attack like this could happen anywhere.

Special report: Closer look at watch and no-fly lists

The terrorist watch list is about 1,800,000 individuals, the no-fly list is in excess of 100,000 people at this point," former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Stuart N. Kaplan said. Kaplan tells us thousands of counter-terrorism tips are called into the Terrorist Screening Center each year. The center was established in 2003 in response to the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. Kaplan said the FBI filters through that information and monitors these so-called blacklists.

Special report: Can tragedies like Orlando be prevented?

"When the question is asked whether the FBI may have missed something, anybody will tell you they cannot know about everybody at any given time all the time. There is going to be a situation where someone or something slips through the cracks," former FBI agent Stuart N. Kaplan said.

3 men accused of conspiring to join ISIL

Hubbard introduced the source to Christian and Jackson, both of whom provided weapons and firearms instruction to Hubbard and the source. “We are at war here domestically,” said former FBI Agent Stuart N. Kaplan. “And we need to understand that.” Kaplan said he expects this to continue to happen more and more frequently.