Two months after the Uvalde school massacre, Texas state police on Monday announced an internal review into the actions of dozens of troopers who were at Robb Elementary during 73 minutes of bewildering inaction by law enforcement as a gunman slaughtered 19 children and two teachers.
The announcement appeared to widen the fallout of a damning 80-page report released over the weekend by the Texas House that revealed failures at all levels of law enforcement and identified 91 state troopers at the scene - more than all Uvalde officers combined. It also amounted to a public shift by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which until now has largely criticized local authorities for failing to confront the gunman sooner.
The report made clear that “egregiously poor decision making” by authorities went beyond local law enforcement in Uvalde, who were eventually outnumbered more than 5-to-1 by state and federal officers at the scene. Other local police from the area around Uvalde also responded to the shooting. Texas DPS did not put a timeline on when the review would be complete. It said the actions of every trooper, state police agent and Texas Ranger on the scene would be examined “to determine if any violations of policy, law, or doctrine occurred.”
Abbott said there are “critical changes needed” but in a statement did not address whether any officers or agencies should be held accountable. Brett Cross, an uncle of 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia, who was among those slain, berated board members at length as not holding themselves accountable for the massacre. He particularly challenged members for not knowing school exit doors were locked to the outside and for not firing Arredondo.
However, she took note of the DPS troopers standing in the room, and said: “... I can't help but wonder if they just didn't find our children worthy of being saved.” The report also criticized a Border Patrol tactical team, saying it waited for a bulletproof shield and working master key for a door to the classroom, which was most likely never locked, before entering. In all, the report put nearly 150 Border Patrol agents at the scene.
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