Texas DPS launches internal investigation into Uvalde mass shooting response after damning report
Texas DPS launches internal investigation into Uvalde mass shooting response after damning report
The Texas Department of Public Safety has ordered an internal investigation of DPS failures at the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde. 91 DPS troopers were on scene at the school shooting, according to a State House investigative report that described failures at all levels of law enforcement.
DALLAS - The Texas Department of Public Safety has ordered an internal investigation of DPS failures at the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde.
91 DPS troopers were on scene at the school shooting, according to a State House investigative report that described failures at all levels of law enforcement.
The House committee released several hours of body cam and surveillance video on Sunday showing a lack of urgency and confusion about who was in charge.
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The committee’s written report also found warning signs about Salvador Ramos at least a year before the shooting that indicated what he was planning.
Gov. Greg Abbott calls the findings in the Texas House investigative report beyond disturbing and raised serious concerns about the response that day. He added that critical changes are needed as a result of the report.
Texas state troopers outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, US, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In one of the body camera videos, we see officers entering the home where the gunman was living.
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Shaky body camera video shows officers entering the Uvalde home where the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, had been living with his grandparents the day of the school massacre on May 24.
According to the time stamp on the video, officers cleared the home at 1:45 p.m. nearly two-and-a-half hours after investigators say Ramos began his killing spree.
Ramos first shot his grandmother inside the home. She survived and was already rushed to a hospital when these officers arrived. One of them described the scene to a detective.
"Big ole pile of blood. There's a towel thrown. There's some fragments along the door. Everything looked like it happened right there in the hallway," he said.
VIDEO: Uvalde, Texas school shooting body cam footage released
Distraught relatives on scene can be heard talking to police.
Ramos then drove to Robb Elementary, where he killed 19 students and two teachers.
Much of the Texas House investigative committee's report focuses on law enforcement failures at the school among the 376 responding officers.
The report says it’s likely most victims were shot when the attacker fired more than 100 rounds in the first two-and-a-half minutes. It’s unclear if breaching the room early could’ve saved lives — but some died after being taken to a hospital.
The report says, "the void of leadership could have contributed to the loss of life as injured victims waited over an hour for help, and the attacker continued to sporadically fire his weapon."
The 80-page report reads "Robb Elementary did not adequately prepare for the risk of an armed intruder on campus," including a common practice of doors intentionally being left open or unlocked. Some doors, like the one to classroom 111, did not lock properly and wasn’t locked when the attacker entered.
The report says Uvalde CISD’s Chief of Police Pete Arredondo failed to implement his own active shooter plan in which he would assume command and control.
Body cam video shows officers speaking to Arredondo in the hallway. He's been suspended while the investigations continue.
The attacker fired at officers who initially moved toward the classrooms. It took 77 minutes for law enforcement to breach the classroom and kill the attacker.
Body camera footage shows during that time it was obvious to some officers they needed to take action.
"Dude, we got to get in there. We got to get in there," an officer can be heard saying. "He just keeps shooting. We got to get in there."
Mike Lawlor is an associate professor of criminology at the University of New Haven.
"You had all those different agencies present and apparently no one was in charge," he said.
The report was the first to criticize both state and federal law enforcement and not just local police.
"There's very serious penalties for people who exhibit cowardice under fire," Lawlor said.
The report also reveals several missed warning signs about the shooter.
One year before the massacre, Ramos was nicknamed "school shooter" in online games he played.
The report says it was a running joke among game players but also showed an escalating pattern of violent tendencies by Ramos, including online threats against women.
The FBI found he may have been sexually assaulted as a child by one of his mother's boyfriends but that she did not believe him.
Ramos also struggled with a speech impediment and never got special education help, in spite of being identified as "at risk."
Gov. Greg Abbott: Uvalde video shows 'shocking' account of police response
Lawlor calls the information about the gunman telling.
"It turns out there were all kinds of red flags ahead of time," he said.
Investigators also interviewed the owner of the gun store where Ramos purchased two AR-style rifles and ammo in three visits just days before the shooting.
The owner described Ramos as an average customer who did not stand out, but customers gave a different account of the young man dressed in all black and behaving nervously, saying he looked like a school shooter.
But just like his online behavior, none of this reached the attention of law enforcement until it was too late.
"So usually after the fact, many people say many people knew," Lawlor said. "These shooters say, ‘I'm not surprised.’"
Meanwhile, also on Monday, there were indescribable emotions at Uvalde CISD’s board meeting a day after the State House committee released its report.
"What are you going to do about your failures?" asked parent Rachel Martinez.
"Most of those kids were my friends," one young student said at the board meeting.
"I get IDed to be able to check my child out for a doctor’s appointment," Martinez said. "But this killer walked right into our school."
"Not one was man enough to go in there. 77 minutes. 77 minutes," said Pastor Daniel Myers. "If there’s any DPS officers up there that were in that hall, be man enough to come and say we failed you."
"Nobody has accepted accountability, so we’re going to force y’all to," another parent said.
The district admits to failures.
"I do lie awake at night thinking about how we can be better, how we can improve and how we can secure our campuses for your children and regain that trust," said Uvalde CISD Superintendent Dr. Hal Harrell.
Some community members say their promises come too late.
"No more good ole’ boy system here. Times changed," said parent Tina Quintanilla-Taylor. "And you know what? Your schools suck. They’re not secure, and we’re not sending our kids back."
Gov. Abbott says with multiple investigations still ongoing, including those by the Texas Senate, FBI and Texas Rangers, his office will begin working with the legislature to "develop and implement the necessary changes to improve public safety, school safety, and mental health assessment and treatment."
FULL REPORT: https://house.texas.gov/_media/pdf/committees/reports/87interim/Robb-Elementary-Investigative-Committee-Report.pdf