Uvalde school shooting: ‘Critical failures’ in response as gunman left in classroom for more than an hour
“Critical failures” delayed the police response to the 2022 shooting in Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers, according to a damning US Department of Justice review.
The report found shortcomings in “leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy and training” led to a confused response to gunman Salvador Ramos at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on 24 May.
Officers should have immediately broken into the classroom to confront the 18-year-old gunman – but instead they treated him like a “barricaded subject” and left him inside with 33 pupils for 77 minutes.
“The resulting delay provided an opportunity for the active shooter to have additional time to reassess and reengage his deadly actions inside the classroom,” the report added.
“It also contributed to a delay in medical interventions with the potential to impact survivability.”
There were at least 10 “stimulus events” over the course of an hour that could have driven police to take steps under active shooter protocols to “immediately stop the killing”.
These events included “at least six separate instances of gunfire” and about “45 rounds in law enforcement officer presence”.
In the 20 months since the department announced its review, footage emerged of police waiting outside the fourth-grade (Year 5) classrooms where the gunman opened fire.
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Bodycam footage of police rushing in
In the aftermath of the shooting, authorities also gave wrong information to parents about whether their children had survived or not, according to the review.
‘They deserved better’
The US attorney general, Merrick Garland, said victims and survivors of the shooting – which also injured 17 people – “deserved better”.
“As a consequence of failed leadership, training, and policies, 33 students and three of their teachers – many of whom had been shot – were trapped in a room with an active shooter for over an hour as law enforcement officials remained outside,” he said.
Speaking to reporters, he referred to delays in responding to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre and added: “It is now widely understood by law enforcement agencies across the country that in active shooter incidents, time is not on the side of law enforcement.
Flowers, toys, and other objects to remember the victims
“Every second counts. And the priority of law enforcement must be to immediately enter the room and stop the shooter with whatever weapons and tools officers have with them.”
The police response came under intense criticism at the time, with reports officers waited in a corridor for more than an hour while the gunman was in a classroom and pupils made panicked 911 calls.
This delay was also caused by officers looking for a key to the classroom door, according to Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
He said in 2022 the door was not locked and there is no evidence officers even checked.
A US Border Patrol-led tactical team ultimately burst into the classroom and killed the gunman.
Gloria Cazares, whose child was killed in the shooting, at a protest against gun violence
Describing an “atmosphere of chaos” at the scene in a July 2022 report, Texas lawmakers concluded officers “failed to prioritise saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety”.
‘Improper training’
Additionally, the latest review states Uvalde police officers had received improper active shooter training in the months leading up to the attack.
They were wrongly taught an “active shooter event” can easily morph into a “hostage crisis”, the report states.
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Among the many errors outlined was the failure of then chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, Pete Arredondo, to immediately take charge.
He was the “de facto” commander, but threw his radio aside while running to the scene and did not request another.
Miscommunications stretched to the hospital where victims were initially treated, while some families were notified of deaths by people not trained to deliver that kind of devastating news.
At least five officers have lost their jobs, including Mr Arredondo.
A number of European leaders have hit out at the terms of the United States and European Union trade deal.
Speaking after talks in Turnberry, Mr Trump told reporters it was the “biggest deal ever made” and will be “great for cars” as well as having a “big impact” on agriculture.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the “big deal” would help bring “stability” to trade after months of turmoil over the threat of a trade war.
The US will impose 15% tariffs on most EU goods entering America, after Mr Trump had threatened a 30% levy.
But French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said of the terms: “It is a sombre day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission.”
Long-time EU critic, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban, responded: “This is not an agreement … Donald Trump ate von der Leyen for breakfast, this is what happened and we suspected this would happen as the U.S. president is a heavyweight when it comes to negotiations while Madame President is featherweight.”
President Donald Trump shakes hands with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry. Pic: Reuters
Others welcomed news of an agreement but seemed resigned to the terms.
The deal includes $600bn (£446bn) of EU investments in the US, and the bloc will buy $750bn (£558bn) of US energy and also purchase American military equipment.
Mr Trump said: “I think it’s great that we made a deal today instead of playing games and maybe not making a deal at all.”
He said: “We are agreeing that the tariff… for automobiles and everything else will be a straight across tariff of 15%.” However, the 15% baseline rate would not apply to steel and aluminium, for which a 50% tariff would stay in place.
Ms Von der Leyen said: “We have a trade deal between the two largest economies in the world and it’s a big deal, it’s a huge deal. It will bring stability, it will bring predictability, that’s very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.”
She said the agreement would include 15% tariffs “across the board”, and it would help rebalance trade between the two large trading partners.
She said the levy rate was the “best we could get” regarding the car sector.
But she added that there was “no decision” on the spirits sector, which was one of those areas where the details in the framework trade deal would have to be examined in the coming weeks.
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Mr Trump had earlier said the main sticking point was “fairness”, citing barriers to US exports of cars and agriculture.
He went into the talks demanding fairer trade with the 27-member bloc and threatening steep tariffs to achieve that, while insisting the US will not go below 15% import taxes.
For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in the hope of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners, including the EU.
In case there was no deal and the US had imposed 30% tariffs from 1 August, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on €93bn (£81bn) of US goods.
Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Ms Von der Leyen described Mr Trump as a “tough negotiator and dealmaker”.
The deal mirrors parts of the framework agreement the US clinched with Japan last week.
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