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Uvalde school shooting: New report findings
The families of the victims from the Robb Elementary School shooting are outraged by the new findings from an independent investigator.
UVALDE, Texas - The former Uvalde mayor who ordered an investigation into actions by local police during the Robb Elementary School shooting said Friday he was surprised the report defended officers and believes the acting chief on the scene failed during the 2022 massacre.
"What I’ve seen so far, it’s not quite what I was expecting," said Don McLaughlin, who stepped down as mayor of the small Texas city last year and is now the Republican nominee for a seat in the state Legislature.
The independent report released Thursday was commissioned by the city to determine if any of the 28 Uvalde Police Department officers and three dispatchers violated department policy in their response to the shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers. Nearly 400 law enforcement agents, including Uvalde police, rushed to the school but waited more than an hour to confront the teenage gunman who was inside a fourth-grade classroom with an AR-style rifle.
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Uvalde school shooting report to be released today
Thursday afternoon, the Uvalde City Council will hear Austin-area investigator Jesse Prado present his independent investigation into the Uvalde Police Department's response to the Robb Elementary School shooting.
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The new report, which acknowledged missteps but ultimately defended the actions of local police, prompted outrage from several family members of the victims during a City Council presentation. One person in the audience screamed "Coward!" and some family members angrily walked out of the meeting.
McLaughlin, who ordered the independent probe in the weeks following the shooting, said that although he had not read the entire 180-page report he was surprised by some of its findings. He singled out the actions of former Uvalde Lt. Mariano Pargas, who was the city’s acting police chief at the time.
In January, a sweeping Justice Department report criticized six responding officers from Uvalde police, including Pargas, for not advancing down a school hallway to engage the shooter. Federal investigators also said in that report that Pargas "continued to provide no direction, command or control to personnel" for nearly an hour after the shooter entered the classroom.
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Uvalde shooting: DOJ report finds 'failures'
A new DOJ report looking at the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde found significant failures in law enforcement response.
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Jesse Prado, a former police officer and investigator for the Austin Police Department who conducted the inquiry for the City of Uvalde, noted that Pargas retired from the job just days after his interview. But he said if he had remained, "it would be my recommendation and my team’s recommendation to exonerate Lt. Pargas."
McLaughlin said he disagreed with those findings.
"I’m not speaking on behalf of anyone else ... but in my opinion, Mariano Pargas failed that day as acting chief," McLaughlin said.
"That part I heard — that they said they exonerated him — I disagree with that," he said.
Pargas, an 18-year UPD veteran, was acting chief on the day of the shooting because Chief Daniel Rodriguez was out of town on vacation. Phone and email messages left Friday with Pargas, who has since been elected as an Uvalde county commissioner, were not immediately returned.
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Judge orders DPS to release Uvalde records
A judge has ordered DPS to release records related to the Uvalde school shooting. FOX 7's Mike Warren speaks with Texas Tribune reporter Zach Despart about the ruling.
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In the nearly two years since the shooting, families have accused police of a leadership void during the 77 minutes that elapsed between the gunman’s arrival and police confronting him.
Others criticized for their actions during the shooting also remain in elected office. Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco advanced to a runoff during Tuesday’s GOP primary and county constable Emmanuel Zamora defeated his Republican challenger outright.
Prado’s report was also highly critical of the district attorney for Uvalde County, Christina Mitchell, who the investigator accused of hindering the inquiry by refusing to share reports and evidence gathered by other law enforcement agencies.
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Uvalde victims honored across Texas
May 24, 2023, marked one year since a gunman murdered 19 students and 2 teachers at Robb Elementary School. The community of Uvalde, and people across Texas, remembered and honored the lives of the victims.
McLaughlin blamed Mitchell for the report taking nearly two years to complete. Mitchell did not return phone and email messages seeking comment Friday.
"The district attorney has blocked this every way," he said. "I don’t know what her agenda is.
"I understand she has an investigation, but you can still run an investigation and be transparent."
A criminal investigation into the law enforcement response remains open and a grand jury was summoned earlier this year.