Texas school shooting: Uvalde’s acting police chief placed on leave

UVALDE, Texas — The mayor of Uvalde announced Sunday that the Texas city’s acting police chief on the day of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School was placed on leave after a new report found fault with law enforcement agencies.

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Mayor Don McLaughlin said Lt. Mariano Pargas was placed on leave as officials try to determine whether he was responsible for taking command at the school when a gunman entered the school and killed 19 children and two teachers, The Associated Press reported.

McLaughlin’s announcement came moments before lawmakers held a news conference to detail a 77-page report released to the families of the victims of the May 24 shooting.

Rep. Dustin Burrows, the chairman of the investigation with the Texas House of Representatives, opened the news conference, telling reporters that if there was a phrase to characterize what happened at Uvalde, it would be “multiple systemic failures.”

“We ‘re going to let the report speak for itself,” Burrows said.

After a two-hour meeting with family members, Burrows and fellow Rep. Joe Moody, along with Justice Eva Guzman made statements and took questions from reporters.

“You cannot cherry-pick one sentence and use it to say everything without reading it all and with context,” Burrows said.

A total of 376 law enforcement officers from 20 different agencies descended on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on the morning of May 24.

“Several officers in the hallway or in that building knew or should have known there was dying in that classroom and they should have done more acting with urgency,” Burrows told reporters.

The stinging rebuke from the committee earlier Sunday came nearly two months after officers waited 77 minutes to confront an 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers.

According to the Texas Tribune, the report described the hesitation of law enforcement officials to confront the shooter; how Salvador Ramos, of Uvalde, prepared and armed himself; and how the school district’s campus safety preparations were lacking at Robb Elementary.

Dade Phelan, speaker of the Texas House, tweeted that the report provided the “most thorough and accurate information” on the shooting.

The parents and family members of the victims were given the full report on Sunday, including a hallway surveillance video that was published by the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV that showed a hesitant tactical response, according to The Associated Press. Families and local officials reacted sharply on Tuesday, saying they were blindsided by the release, which occurred before they had a chance to view the footage.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was also incensed after viewing the leaked video, the Houston Chronicle reported.

“Obviously it’s disgusting to see what happened,” Abbott said during a news conference earlier this week. “It’s been clear from the time of Columbine that whenever there is a shooting … you run toward that danger and encounter that danger. You have to eliminate that shooter as quickly as possible. From what I have seen … it looks like that policy was not followed.”

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School shooting report rocks Uvalde community Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, Jr. speaks to the media following a news conference where the Texas House investigative committee released its full report on the shootings at Robb Elementary School, Sunday, July 17, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (Eric Gay/AP)

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