UVALDE, Texas — A year after the shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 21 people dead, some families in Uvalde, Texas, are troubled that the authorities still have not finished investigating the events of that day, including the botched police response.
"We feel there's no justice for the fallen 21 — accountability," said Jessica Orona, whose 10-year-old son, Noah, was shot but survived the attack."I think that's what hurts the most."
In total, 376 officers responded to the elementary school that day from 23 departments. Uvalde Police Chief Danny Rodriguez was on vacation that day, but he says that responding law enforcement, which included 25 of his officers, failed. His department is conducting its own administrative review, but he does not know when that will be complete.
Instead of engaging the gunman in the classroom, video shows law enforcement retreating back down the hallways. Investigators tell ABC News that, though there were many mistakes that day, these early moments are the focus of the scrutiny. "An abject failure is being kind," said Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety Steve McCraw, whose own department had 91 officers on scene that day. Since the shooting, one DPS officer has been fired, another has resigned, and a third is appealing dismissal.
Pargas retired from the police department after officials said they would move to fire him. He is seeking to have his retirement status changed to"honorable" and told ABC News he could not do an interview while the investigation is ongoing. "The morale, it's a roller-coaster," said Rodriguez."what they went through -- it's going to affect them for the rest of their lives. There's no doubt about that."
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