DOJ launches investigation into police response to Texas school shooting
The investigation’s results could say a lot about what resulted in such a large loss of life.
TOLEDO, Ohio — Following last week’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, the department of justice is conducting a review of the head-scratching response from law enforcement.
In a statement released Sunday, department spokesperson Anthony Coley announced the review, which was requested by Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin.
Coley says this investigation will be fair, independent, and transparent — with the results to be made public. His statement reads in-part:
“The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events.”
The shooting left 19 students and 2 teachers dead at Robb Elementary School. The shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was killed by Border Patrol agents.
But that was only after a combined 80 minutes of horror, starting at 11:30 a.m., when a teacher called 911 to report the armed gunman, after he had crashed into a ditch near the school.
3 minutes later, Ramos entered the building through a door that was left open. At 11:35, 3 Uvalde police officers entered the building. Two were grazed by bullets from the shooter.
From approximately 11:37 to 11:44, 16 additional rounds are fired. It was 11:51 when a police sergeant and more backup arrived.
What had unfolded in the next hour was a nightmare for every student and teacher in the school that day. There were calls from scared kids to 911, pleading for police to put an end to the bloodshed — and quick.
In his first news conference following the shooting, Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised law enforcement for their “amazing courage” — but that was to change on Friday.
“Yes, I was misled. I am livid about what happened. I was on this very stage two days ago, and I was telling the public information that had been told to me in a room, just a few yards behind where we’re looking at right now,” said Abbott. “And as everybody has learned, the information that I was given, turned out in part, to be inaccurate — and I’m absolutely livid about that.”
But words and lividness won’t bring back the 19 kids who perished on that fateful day, which was two days out from the end of their academic year.
