Uvalde shooting report sharply critical of police response, leaders

The Justice Department issued a scathing report Thursday describing the myriad failures of local police to the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School — a damning 575-page catalogue of confusion, lack of courage and their deadly consequences.

“The most significant failure was that responding officers should have immediately recognized the incident as an active shooter situation, using the resources and equipment that were sufficient to push forward immediately and continuously toward the threat until entry was made into classrooms,” the critical incident review concluded.

Nineteen schoolchildren and two teachers were killed in the attack in Uvalde, Tex.

The report was highly critical of local police commanders. It also criticized state law enforcement, saying its officers added to the disorganization and confusion that contributed to the 77 minutes that elapsed between when the young gunman burst into the school and when police finally stormed the classroom where he had been killing children.