Texas school shooting victims 'deserved better' from police, US review finds

Police failed in their response to the 2022 elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers, the U.S. Justice Department concluded on Thursday, saying that the victims "deserved better."

The report faulted law enforcement officers for waiting more than an hour to breach the classroom where the 18-year-old gunman was holed up with students and staff, leaving the children inside to make panicked 911 calls.

"The victims and survivors of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School deserved better," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "The law enforcement response at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022 - and the response by officials in the hours and days after - was a failure."

The report faulted responding officers for not immediately confronting the gunman, who was holed up in a set of adjoining classrooms with students and staff for 77 minutes until he was killed by a police tactical team.