The U.S. Justice Department released a nearly 600-page report on how law enforcement handled the active shooter situation at the Texas school, renewing criticism of law enforcement’s response. The report, released Jan. 18, states that police should have immediately confronted the gunman but failed to do so.
On May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were gunned down at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The nation watched school surveillance and police bodycam footage over the course of one hour.
The video shows the gunman enter the school. Three minutes later, officers are seen in the hallways with weapons drawn.
There were 376 law enforcement on scene. Around 77 minutes later, police stormed the classroom, ending one of the worst school massacres in history.
“The most significant failure was that responding officers should have immediately recognized the incident as an active shooter situation, using the resources and equipment that were sufficient to push forward immediately and continuously toward the threat until entry was made into classrooms 111/112 and the threat was eliminated,” the DOJ report says.
The Columbine High School mass shooting in 1999 taught law enforcement that waiting costs lives. Since then, standard protocol in active shooter training has emphasized confronting the gunman.
The failure to do that in Uvalde resulted in a handful of officers being fired, including the school’s police chief, Pete Arredondo. It also resulted in nationwide condemnation.
Since the shooting, there have been legislative hearings and reviews at the state level over how police responded that day. The comprehensive report from the federal level shares a similar conclusion as other reviews: There should have been better communication, better training and a swifter response. The DOJ called Uvalde Police’s response “a failure.”
