A Department of Justice report released on Thursday identified multiple missteps in police’s response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 students and two adults.
The 600-page report determined that “cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy, and training” allowed gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, to remain barricaded in a fourth-grade classroom — with children — for more than 77 minutes. The New York Times reported that most of the lead decision-makers that day had retired or were fired.
The Department of Justice concluded that the most egregious error was Uvalde police’s decision to classify the incident as a “barricaded standoff” and not an active shooter.
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“Although several of the first officers on the scene initially acted consistent with generally accepted practices to try to engage the subject, once they retreated after being met with gunfire, the law enforcement responders began treating the incident as a barricaded subject scenario rather than as an active shooter situation,” the agency said.
The DOJ said it reviewed more than 14,000 pieces of evidence, including surveillance footage. The agency reportedly also spent 54 days in Uvalde, Texas, to conduct interviews.
Video footage suggests that officers stood by after the initial gunfire, even as the gunman fired four additional rounds. Officers remained inactive even after asking for keys to a presumably unlocked classroom and gathering tear gas, gas masks, and a sledgehammer.
Various agencies responded to the scene, including Texas Rangers, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Marshals Service. Despite this, it was an hour and 14 minutes before anyone entered the classroom and fatally shot Ramos. By then, 21 people died in that classroom.
Then-Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo told the media that he did not bring his two radios as he believed they would weigh him down. Arredondo reportedly used his phone to communicate during the shooting — but he said he stopped answering when he was bombarded with calls.
Arredondo was fired months after the shooting. The DOJ’s report stated that Arredondo’s actions were not consistent with an active shooter situation, as he prioritized evacuation over eliminating the active threat.
The DOJ’s report concluded, “The response to the May 24, 2022, mass casualty incident at Robb Elementary School was a failure.”
Uvalde DOJ Report by Jacquelyn Gray on Scribd
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