Uvalde releases independent report on Robb Elementary School shooting

UVALDE, Texas — The Uvalde City Council released a report Thursday following an independent investigation into the shooting at Robb Elementary School in May 2022 that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

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The report for the Uvalde City Council was done by Jesse Prado, an Austin-based investigator and former police detective, according to The Associated Press. He stated that there were many issues at the scene including issues with communication, poor live shooter training, lack of equipment and delays in getting into the classroom.

“There were problems all day long with communication and lack of it. The officers had no way of knowing what was being planned, what was being said,” Prado said, according to the AP. “If they would have had a ballistic shield, it would have been enough to get them to the door.”

The report found that police officers on the day of the shooting did not violate policy, ABC News reported.

He also reportedly blamed families for comprising the police response as he presented the report to the council, the AP reported. Many families got upset and left the meeting.

Uvalde City Council member Hector Luevano said, according to the AP, that he was “embarrassed” and “insulted” by the report.

“These families deserve more. This community deserves more,” Luevano said. “I don’t accept this report.”

Earlier in the day Thursday, Prado said he had a hard time getting what he needed to compile the report, CNN reported.

“I had a lot of difficulty in gathering all the evidence … the information that I needed to complete a thorough examination of what these officers did,” Prado told city officials. “The district attorney did not allow me to receive a copy of information regarding this case from other sources, other agencies.”

The city’s report was one of many probes into the shooting. A previous investigation was completed by the Justice Department.

The Justice Department released a report in January that found that responding police “demonstrated no urgency” in responding to the then-active shooting, outlining “cascading failures” in the response from law enforcement, the AP reported. It took law enforcement over an hour to get into the classroom and kill the gunman.

Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell’s office’s criminal investigation which was started in May 2022 is still open, the AP reported.

The shooting on May 24, 2022, left 19 students and two teachers dead. Over 400 law enforcement officers responded to the shooting. Surveillance footage showed officers in a school hallway minutes after the gunman arrived, although they did not confront the shooter for more than an hour.

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