Texas State Police Launch Internal Review Of Uvalde School Shooting Response
The Texas Department of Public Safety said Monday it would review the response of state police to the Uvalde elementary school shooting.
It’s the first time the department has said it would evaluate its own response to the May 24 massacre, for which law enforcement has come under withering criticism. A lone gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in the school while it took officers more than an hour to confront and kill him.
The department told The Associated Press that its investigation would specifically “determine if any violations of policy, law, or doctrine occurred” in its officers’ response. The internal review was launched last week.
The state police inquiry comes on the heels of a preliminary 80-page report, issued by an investigative committee of the Texas House of Representatives, that found “egregiously poor decision-making” by law enforcement at Robb Elementary School was to blame for one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.
Nearly 400 law enforcement officers gathered inside and inside the school for more than an hour ― roughly 90 of them state troopers ― before entering the classroom to stop the 18-year-old gunman.
Col. Steven C. McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety (center), speaks with Texas State Troopers near Robb Elementary School on May 30. (Photo: Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images)
A Uvalde Police Department officer told investigators he was aware of 911 calls from inside the classroom, pleading for officers to respond, and yet no one attempted to enter.
Other officers previously said they didn’t enter the classroom because they assumed the door was locked and they didn’t have the key. The report found that it was unlikely the door was locked.
On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called the House report findings “beyond disturbing” and said it raises “serious concerns about the response that day.”
That’s a sharp change in tune for Abbott, who, one day after the shooting, praised the officers and told Texans “it could have been worse.”
“The reality is, as horrible as what happened, it could have been worse,” Abbott said at the time. “The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do: They showed amazing courage by running toward gunfire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives.”
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
