Texas Governor Greg Abbott demanded “critical changes” Monday as a response to the investigation by the state House into the Uvalde school shooting at Robb Elementary May 24.
Abbott stated in a statement that “the findings in their investigative reports are beyond disturbing” and raised serious concerns about the day’s response. “There are important changes that must be made as a result the Texas House’s findings.”
Abbott stated that he would collaborate with state legislators to improve public safety, school safety, and mental health assessments.
Governor is the latest Texas high-ranking official to condemn active shooter response.
Dustin Burrows (the Texas state representative) was the leader of the House committee that investigated the incident. He criticized “multiple systemic failures”, and “lackof effective overall command.”
Surveillance video shows shocking footage of police responding to the attack. They are seen in the corridor outside the classrooms where a gunman shot and killed 19 children and 2 adults.
Multiple times, children in the elementary school classroom dialed 911 to ask for help.
Authorities say that the tactical team broke into the school’s classroom doors and shot the killer dead after 77 minutes.
Pete Arredondo was criticized for his lack of leadership on the school’s scene.
The Committee found no ‘villains’ during its investigation, other than the attack. We cannot attribute malice or ill motives to anyone. We found systemic failures, egregiously poor decision-making and instead we found systemic failures.”
Experts in active shooter response with the FBI, DEA, and Texas’ Public Safety director Steve McCrew have all said that it took too long.
McCraw stated last week to the Special Committee to Protect All Texans of the state Senate that the police response to active shooting was an “abject fail and antithetical to all we’ve learned in the past two decades since Columbine.”
Katherine Schweit, an ex-FBI special agent, launched the active shooter program following the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut. She said that law enforcement officers have been trained to immediately pursue and neutralize active shooters.
Abbott’s office claims that he has taken executive actions to demand comprehensive reviews and strategies. In addition, he has also invested more than $105million in school safety and mental healthcare services following the attack. Uvalde County will also receive $5 million to fund a family resilience center.
