Uvalde mayor knocks report that police missed opportunity to shoot gunman

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Uvalde’s mayor on Friday denied a current report that mentioned a metropolis police officer had an opportunity to shoot the 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 youngsters and two lecturers earlier than he entered Robb Elementary School final month.

In a written assertion, Mayor Don McLaughlin mentioned that no Uvalde police officer noticed the shooter earlier than he entered the varsity and “no Uvalde police officers had any opportunity to take a shot at the gunman.”

“A Uvalde Police Department officer saw someone outside but was unsure of who he saw and observed children in the area as well,” McLaughlin mentioned. “Ultimately, it was a coach with children on the playground, not the shooter.”

McLaughlin’s feedback come two days after the release of a report analyzing the legislation enforcement response to the taking pictures. The report by staff on the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University in San Marcos mentioned a Uvalde police officer had the gunman in his crosshairs and requested a supervisor for permission to shoot — however the supervisor didn’t hear the request or responded too late.

ALERRT, created in 2002 to handle the necessity for energetic shooter response coaching for first responders, primarily based its report on an hourlong briefing on June 1 by an “investigating officer with knowledge of the event and investigative details,” the report mentioned.

The report mentioned that ALERRT workers additionally reviewed surveillance footage from the varsity, Google Maps and a quick cellphone video.

The report doesn’t establish which company the investigator works for. The report does say that the Texas Department of Public Safety reached out to ALERRT quickly after the assault “to assess the law enforcement response.”

DPS and ALERRT didn’t instantly reply to an electronic mail from The Texas Tribune looking for remark.

McLaughlin’s assertion is the newest in an ongoing public feud between town and DPS. Last month, DPS Director Steve McCraw advised a state Senate committee that the Uvalde police response to the taking pictures was an “abject failure” and blamed the indecisiveness of the on-scene commander, who “decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children.”

Law enforcement officers who responded to the taking pictures — notably Uvalde faculty district Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who just lately resigned as a metropolis council member — have confronted intense criticism for ready greater than an hour earlier than coming into the school rooms and killing the gunman.

McLaughlin, in the meantime, has accused state authorities of selectively releasing information to scapegoat native legislation enforcement and deliberately leaving out particulars in regards to the state’s response to the bloodbath.

“McCraw has continued to, whether you want to call it, lie, leak … mislead or misstate information in order to distance his own troopers and rangers from the response,” McLaughlin said last month after McCraw’s testimony.

The mayor mentioned Friday that dozens of DPS troopers had been on the faculty by the point the gunman entered the classroom the place the scholars and lecturers had been killed.

“I’ve said it once and will say it again, the premature release of piecemeal information or anything related to the May 24 Department of Public Safety (DPS)/Texas Rangers investigation is a disservice to families who lost children or parents because the true facts need to come out once all investigations/reviews, which the City expects will be thorough and fair, are complete,” the mayor’s mentioned. “I firmly believe it is imperative the families are provided with complete, unbiased, and comprehensive information about this incident.”

DPS has additionally mentioned the Texas Rangers are conducting an investigation into the taking pictures. The FBI and a legislative committee are additionally conducting their very own investigations.

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