Uvalde families again call for police to face charges after critical DOJ report

Families of the victims of the 2022 elementary school mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, are again calling for police officers to face charges after a Department of Justice (DOJ) report finding systemic issues was released this week.

The DOJ launched an investigation immediately after an 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School and fatally shot 19 students, two teachers and injured 17 others in May 2022.

The nearly 600-page report released Thursday explored issues including why officers waited to engage the gunman; nearly 400 officers from multiple agencies spent 77 minutes waiting outside while the shooter was inside the school.

The DOJ said there was a lack of urgency setting up a post outside the school and a comprehensive failure to identify the situation, which led to unnecessary deaths as officers detained parents who attempted to enter the school but did not go in themselves. Police response was as if the gunman was barricaded somewhere with hostages, which required a more careful approach, instead of a free-roaming rampage in which he walked the halls of the school, The Hill previously reported.

The DOJ report also found that training, communication, leadership and technology problems caused the shooting to be prolonged. Additionally, it criticized state and local officials for releasing misleading information about the police response.

The question now on many family’s minds, The Associated Press reported Thursday, is if anyone will be charged with a crime.

Without criminal charges for any officers involved nearly two years after the shooting, families are losing hope but asking for officials to pursue criminal charges, the news service noted.

Jesse Rizo, who lost his niece, Jacklyn Cazares, said he is hoping for charges but has little faith in those in power and believes “the past will tell you basically what your outcome is going to be,” according to the AP.

“Twenty months later, there’s no end in sight for this local district attorney to be able to do anything,” said state Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D), who represents Uvlade. “We don’t know if she’s going to indict anybody at all. It’s really a shame where we are now.”

Since the shooting, at least five officers have lost their jobs, including two from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the on-site commander. Charges were not filed as a result of a criminal investigation led by the Texas Rangers. The FBI assisted the Rangers in that investigation but is not doing its own investigation, the AP noted.

President Biden released a statement Thursday pointing out the “multiple points of failure that hold lessons for the future,” and said his administration and the DOJ will work with the Department of Education to implement policy to help communities respond more effectively in the future.