More than a week since a teenager opened fire on young children and teachers at an elementary school in southwest Texas, much remains unknown about why police did not run into the building and what investigators have learned about their response.
As funerals for the 21 victims of the attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde began Tuesday, the families and friends of the victims had yet to hear more about the 18-year-old killer or why federal agents from Border Patrol were the ones to lead the charge in taking down the shooter instead of the city’s SWAT team. Below are answers to some of the top questions regarding the investigation:
Who is investigating the police response to the Uvalde school shooting?
The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Ranger Division announced its own investigation.
The U.S. Justice Department on Sunday opened a critical incident review at the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin.
What specifically is being investigated?
The response of law enforcement to Robb Elementary on May 24 is what is being examined. That includes how personnel from the Uvalde Police Department, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department, Border Patrol, Uvalde County Sheriff’s Department, and DPS responded.
Who is and isn’t cooperating with the federal and state investigations?
Police who are investigating and those being investigated have contradicted each other throughout this process. While state officials have accused local officials of not helping them, local police have claimed they are not holding back.
ABC News reported Tuesday afternoon that the Uvalde police and school district police were no longer cooperating with DPS.
“The decision to stop cooperating occurred soon after Col. Steven McCraw held a news conference Friday during which he said the delayed police entry into the classroom was ‘the wrong decision’ and contrary to protocol,” ABC reporter Aaron Katersky wrote on Twitter.
Hours later, DPS issued a statement clarifying that Uvalde police and the school district police were in fact cooperating with investigators. However, the school district’s police chief, Pete Arredondo, had “not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers that was made two days ago.” At the same time, the Combined Law Enforcement Agencies of Texas union publicly urged the local officials to be transparent with state officials.
“Uvalde PD and Uvalde ISD are cooperating,” DPS spokesman Travis Considine told Dallas Morning News on Tuesday evening. “Plenty of their personnel have done interviews and given statements to investigators, so it’s absolutely wrong to characterize both those departments as not being cooperative.”
Arredondo told CNN on Wednesday morning that he was “in touch with DPS every day,” contradicting the state agency.
Have Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez or CISD Police Chief Arredondo made public appearances recently?
Arredondo was scheduled to be sworn in as a city councilman as part of a public ceremony Tuesday evening. The ceremony was closed to the public, which McLaughlin said was out of respect for the shooting victims’ families. Arredondo told CNN that it was a “private thing.”
Rodriguez has remained out of the spotlight altogether. His department issued a statement May 26 disclosing that no one in his department had sustained any life-threatening injuries and had “responded within minutes” of the attack. It was that day that media reports emerged that police had not gone into the school for 40 minutes after police were alerted to the attack.
When will the investigations conclude?
The state and federal investigations are expected to last several weeks and possibly months.
Since the investigation began, the public has seen major shifts in the narrative, including that a teacher had left an exterior door propped open. That statement, pushed by the police, was walked back Wednesday.
What is the state doing?
GOP Gov. Greg Abbott asked the state legislature to convene a special legislative committee to examine the incident and make recommendations to improve school safety, mental health and social media initiatives, police training, and firearm safety.
Abbott is running for a third term and won the Republican nomination in March.
Reporting from Washington Examiner.
