Uvalde City Council to release investigation into response at Robb Elementary

UVALDE, Texas (Nexstar) — Nearly two years after the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School, the Uvalde City Council will hear findings Thursday from an independent review it requested of its police force's actions on May 24, 2022.

It comes months after the Department of Justice released its review of the shooting, in which it found "cascading failures" of the nearly 400 law enforcement officers who responded to the scene that day. While officers from several local, state and federal agencies rushed to the scene, they waited more than an hour to breach the classroom and take down the gunman. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old gunman.

The DOJ report is one of several investigations into the shooting, and cited themes of leadership failures in response to the shooting — citing lack of communication and failure to establish a command post on-scene. The federal government's findings followed similar themes to a summer 2022 Texas House Committee investigation into the shooting. The House’s 77-page document uncovered the miscommunication among officers which led to a delay in stopping the shooter.

It comes amid an ongoing criminal investigation by Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell’s office. A grand jury was summoned earlier this year and some law enforcement officials have already been asked to testify, according to the Associated Press.

City leaders will meet at 2 p.m. Thursday to hear the results of the review, which was led by Jesse Prado, an Austin-based investigator and former police detective. Then-Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin commissioned the third-party investigation in June of 2022, citing frustrations with other agencies reviewing law enforcement action, like the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Uvalde County District Attorney's office.

Councilmembers will meet in a closed executive session before they share the findings with the public and inviting comment from those in attendance.

This is a developing story, check back for updates. Capitol Correspondents Monica Madden and Ryan Chandler will have reports from Uvalde on KXAN at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.