Report details ‘systemic failures,’ ‘egregious’ decisions in Uvalde shooting response

For families in Uvalde, Sunday brought with it the weight of the most exhaustive account of their loved one’s final moments yet. In a long-awaited, 77-page report, a Texas House committee concluded there is not one person to blame, but instead a long series of “systemic failures and egregious poor decision making” that allowed the deadliest school shooting in state history to unfold May 24. The report, reviewed Sunday by The Dallas Morning News, is the second to examine the law enforcement response in the past two weeks. On July 6, a 26-page report by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University, commissioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety, detailed three missed opportunities to slow — or even stop — the gunman before he entered Robb Elementary school, killing 19 children and two teachers. The three committee members — Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock; Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso and former state Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman — first shared their findings during a private meeting with Uvalde residents Sunday.

The committee said the goal was to “provide answers and prevent similar tragedies in the future.” “A safer environment for all Texas children is one of the ways we can honor the memory of the students and teachers murdered in Uvalde,” the report said. The document was dedicated to the 21 people killed. “The Committee issues this interim report now, believing the victims, their families, and the entire Uvalde community have already waited too long for answers and transparency,” the report said. Law enforcement has been widely criticized for the response in Uvalde. Eighty minutes elapsed between the first call to 911 and police confronting the shooter, who fired at least 142 rounds, according to a timeline from Texas Department of Public Safety director Steve McCraw. In an uncoordinated effort that stretched over an hour, 376 officers responded. Of that, 149 were U.S. Border Patrol, 91 were state police, 25 were Uvalde police officers and 16 were Uvalde sheriff’s deputies. Only five were Uvalde school district officers.