The 376 officers who were alerted when a man shot at students and teachers at a primary school in the Texas town of Uvalde two months ago intervened too late. That concludes a special committee of the state House of Representatives, which on Sunday a report of 77 pages about the attack. The committee blamed “systematic failure” for the officers’ late response: the school was not properly secured and it was not clear which police team was in charge.
On May 24, an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, in southern Texas. The man was eventually shot dead by police officers after walking around the school for more than an hour. Officers were given misinformation upon arrival, some of them told investigators, which left them unsure of what to do. But the “chaotic” atmosphere that most officers described should at least encourage them to ask more questions, the committee writes.
Police shortcomings suggest lack of training, resulting in “many missed opportunities, that tragic day,” the report said. “Officers did not prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety.”
It was already clear that the police made mistakes at Uvalde. A few days after the shooting, Texas security officer Steven McCraw called it a “wrong decision” that officers did not immediately break through the door of a classroom. They had not judged the situation as imminent. The first group of nineteen officers present was waiting in the hallway for a special unit. The committee investigation showed on Sunday that that team also did not act properly.
Also read: Everyone got a lesson: what do you do when there is a gunman in our school?