Uvalde report: “systemic failure, egregiously poor decision making”

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The Uvalde report released by a Texas House Investigative Committee Sunday, found that there were “multiple systemic failures and poor decision making” with a lack of clear leadership.

The report, published on Sunday, showed that nearly 400 law enforcement officials were on the scene at Robb Elementary School, far above initial reports.

“There were multiple systemic failures,” said Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Republican member of the investigative committee. “Some of the same systems that we found here that failed that day are across the entire state and country.”

Report Released After Video Shows Law Enforcement Response

The 77-page report was first made available to the victims’ families before it was released. It comes less than a week after a video was released by the Austin American-Statesman, showing law enforcement entering Robb Elementary three minutes after the gunman with body armor on and guns drawn.

The report heavily criticized multiple agencies present on the scene, unlike Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McGraw, who solely placed the blame on Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo last month, calling the police response an “abject failure.”

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“The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering room 111 and 112, was the on-scene commander, who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children,” McGraw testified before the Texas House Investigative Committee last month.

Arredondo testified that he did not consider himself to be in charge at the scene that day. He was placed on administrative leave last month by Uvalde School District Superintendent Hal Harrell “because of the lack of clarity that remains”. Arredondo has since resigned.

The report however shows that there were responders from numerous agencies, including federal agencies, that were better trained and better equipped than Arredondo who could have taken control of the situation.

Of the nearly 400 responding law enforcement agents, 149 were from the United States Border Patrol and 14 were from the Department of Homeland Security.

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For 77 minutes the shooter remained in a classroom where he shot and killed 19 children and 2 teachers, all while being surrounded by nearly 400 trained law enforcement agents. 

Link to Black Wall Street Times>