The Department of Justice released a damning report on Thursday that ripped into the law enforcement response to the May 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead. 
The report said that the officers who responded to calls of a mass shooter did not treat the situation as a mass shooting but a barricade situation. Officers did not kill the 18-year-old gunman until 77 minutes after the initial call to police. Before they took action, footage of the school’s hallway showed officers standing outside the classroom, with the shooter still inside.
“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 report said, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/uvalde-school-shooting-justice-department-report-police-16b59efa5c5015d685d917c3f0f26256" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adding</a> that officers &#8220;demonstrated no urgency&#8221; during their response. 
“Leadership in law enforcement is absolutely critical, especially in moments of dire challenge,” the report <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/01/18/uvalde-school-shooting-doj-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>. “It requires courageous action and steadiness in a chaotic environment … This leadership was absent for too long in the Robb Elementary School law enforcement response.&#8221;
The report also added that the officers wasted time looking for a key to a door that may have not actually been locked. 
“The entry team assumed the doors to rooms 111/112 were locked, based on information they received from officers who were on scene for a longer period of time. However, throughout the entirety of the incident, this assumption was never tested and the doorknob was never checked,” the report said. “Our analysis indicates that eight interior doors in the West Building were unlocked and discovered to be unlocked by responding officers during evacuations.”
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The search for the key “was partly the cause of the significant delay in entering to eliminate the threat and stop the killing and dying inside classrooms 111 and 112,&#8221; the report said.
The report also said that it found issues with the school district, saying that it had &#8220;a culture of complacency regarding locked-door policies&#8221;
During his announcement of the release of the 575-page report, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the actions by the officers left students inside a room with the gunman. 
“As a consequence of failed leadership, training, and policies, 33 students and three of their teachers — many of whom had been shot — were trapped in a room with an active shooter for over an hour as law enforcement officials remained outside,” Garland said. 
At least five of the 376 officers who responded to the shooting have been fired, according to the Associated Press. Uvalde police, state police, Border Patrol, and school officers were all at the scene during the shooting.

Mass Shooting At Elementary School In Uvalde, Texas Leaves At Least 19 Dead

DOJ Rips Into Police Response To Uvalde School Shooting That Left 21 Dead

Department of Justice

Merrick Garland

Robb Elementary

School Shooting

Texas

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Uvalde

A 17-year-old boy who reportedly is the cousin of the Uvalde, Texas, teenage school shooter — who murdered 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary in May 2022 — was arrested in San Antonio after his mother reported he was planning to shoot up an elementary school.
Court documents state that the mother — who said her son was on probation and was intoxicated when he issued the threats — said her son was planning to “do the same thing” as the Uvalde school shooter and that she overheard him on the phone trying to buy an AR-15 illegally, Fox 29 <a href="https://foxsanantonio.com/newsletter-daily/san-antonio-teen-cousin-of-uvalde-school-shooter-arrested-for-alleged-threats-against-local-school">reported</a>.
Court documents also state the teenager had boasted to his sister of what he would do to the school. The sister told authorities that her brother was riding in the car with her and threatened to shoot her in the head and “shoot the school.” She said she believed her brother would carry out his threats. The family lives near an elementary school.
Edgewood Independent School District SD released this statement:
<blockquote>
Edgewood ISD has been made aware a teenager is now in police custody accused of making a threat against a school on the city&#8217;s west side. Edgewood ISD is committed to the safety and security of all students, faculty, and staff. Each campus has an assigned Safety Officer. We encourage everyone to report any suspicious activity; if you see something, say something.
</blockquote>
The cousin was booked into the Bexar County Jail on Monday afternoon.
The fallout from the Robb Elementary shooting included the Uvalde school board voting to fire police chief Pete Arredondo and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/uvalde-school-board-police-chief-pete-arredondos-firing/story?id=88692404">recommending</a> that Arredondo be fired.
Details on the police response to the shooting found that roughly 400 law enforcement officers responded to the scene of the shooting, but the shooter remained in the classroom for 77 minutes before officers breached the door and killed him.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-new-eerie-body-cam-footage-from-uvalde-shooting-released">Footage</a> of the school’s hallway showed officers standing outside the classroom for over an hour while the shooter was still in the classroom with the victims, some of whom were still alive and calling 911 for help.
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this article.

School closed due to Coronavirus. School closure under COVID-19 global pandemic. Selective focus on door and handle with blurred hallway, locker background. Fight against public health risk disease.

Cousin Of Uvalde Mass Shooter Arrested After Allegedly Threatening To Shoot Up School

Crime

Texas state lawmakers advanced a public school safety bill on Sunday requiring certain district employees to undergo mental health training and all campuses to staff at least one armed security guard during regular school hours.
Both chambers passed <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/88R/billtext/pdf/HB00003F.pdf#navpanes=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Bill 3</a> just more than a year after a lone gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school — the third-deadliest mass school shooting in American history.
“It’s time to act,” Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian) said, according to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/28/texas-school-safety/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Texas Tribune</a>. “We need to prevent the next Uvalde.”
King and other Texas state Republicans praised the bill, while Democratic lawmakers signaled concerns over budget issues and providing armed security on school grounds.
“The potential for disastrous consequences is staggering,” Rep. Vikki Goodwin (D-Austin) said, according to the Tribune.
The sweeping measure includes several protocols and other provisions to protect students, staff, and faculty from active shooter threats across the Lone Star State.
According to the bill, peace officers, school resource officers, school marshals, or school district employees could qualify as armed security guards for each campus. The measure would also require school employees who interact with children regularly to complete an “evidence-based mental health first-aid training program.”
The bill grants the Texas Education Agency authority to create safety and security departments, conduct annual vulnerability assessments on every school campus, and requires the agency to notify parents of “violent activity.”
The bill would also require regional safety teams to conduct on-site general intruder detection audits of school district campuses annually.
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The Texas School Safety Center, a think tank at the Texas State University, would conduct a review every five years to ensure the best practices and security measures for campuses.
County sheriff&#8217;s departments in areas with fewer than 350,000 people must also hold semi-annual meetings to discuss school safety and law enforcement response to “violent incidents.”
According to the Tribune, law enforcement must also ensure all radio communications properly work following the “chaotic, uncoordinated scene” when nearly 400 authorities from different agencies responded to the school shooting in Uvalde.
“This is a huge win for the safety of our children,” Rep. Carrie Isaa (R-Dripping Springs) said, according to the Tribune.
House Bill 3 now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) desk for signature.

Texas House Committee Holds Hearing On Uvalde School Shooting

Texas Lawmakers Advance School Safety Bill Requiring Mental Health Training, Armed Security On Campuses

General

Mass Shooting

Public Schools

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-ron-desantis-officially-enters-2024-presidential-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DeSantis Officially Running </a>
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis filed official paperwork this afternoon with the FEC to run for President of the United States. He will kick off his presidential campaign with a conversation with Elon Musk on Twitter tonight at 6 pm ET. We’ll have the full report on that event tomorrow morning. 

<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177857316/its-been-1-year-since-the-mass-shooting-in-uvalde-texas-killed-21-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One-Year Anniversary Of Uvalde Shooting</a>
Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Uvalde school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted a ceremony at the White House today to mark the 21 lives lost at Robb Elementary School and to promote Democrats’ gun control policies. According to an exclusive report from the Washington Post, the supervising law enforcement officers who had direct knowledge of the ongoing shooting and were responsible for decisions that led to the deadly 77-minute delay in entering the school and engaging the gunman remain on the job. 

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bud-light-situation-target-makes-emergency-calls-after-backlash-to-tuck-friendly-female-swimwear-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Target Attempts To Backtrack</a>
According to sources inside the company, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/target" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Target</a> made “emergency” calls last week to managers and senior directors at stores across the country after the company faced backlash for its Pride collection, which included “tuck-friendly” female swimwear and other products. 
Store managers were given less than 36 hours to move Pride products displays to a  less prominent position in order to avoid a “Bud Light situation.” Target says that the move is to protect store workers after experiencing, quote, “threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work.” As a result, the store will be “making adjustments” to its plans, including “removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alex-murdaugh-to-be-deposed-in-wrongful-death-lawsuit-brought-by-family-of-19-year-old-killed-in-boat-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Murdaugh To Be Deposed In Wrongful Death Lawsuit Brought By Family Of 19-Year-Old Killed In Boat Crash</a>
Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh will be deposed for a wrongful-death lawsuit that is being brought against his family. The family of 19-year-old Mallory Beach is suing the Murdaugh family and a convenience store following Beach’s untimely death in 2019 – a death attributed to Murdaugh’s youngest son Paul. Paul, according to his friends, was driving a boat while drunk when he crashed into a bridge and sent two passengers flying into the water, with Beach dying as a result. Paul was indicted on one count of boating under the influence causing death and two counts of causing significant bodily injury, but he was murdered along with his mother before the case went to trial. Murdaugh will face questions from representatives for the Beach family and Parker’s Kitchen convenience store. A date has not been set for the deposition.
<a href="https://www.wate.com/business/press-releases/cision/20230524PH10032/new-research-finds-dramatic-increase-in-illegal-ketamine-seized-by-authorities-sparking-concern-about-potential-dangers-of-rising-recreational-use/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DEA Warns About Ketmaine </a>
 The Drug Enforcement Agency is concerned about a rise in the use of ketamine as a party drug.  Ketamine which is used in veterinary practices as an anesthetic is now often prescribed “off label” as a treatment for depression and anxiety. . Using data from the  “High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program” scientists at NYU say there has been a 350% rise in the seizure of street ketamine since 2017. The states of Tennessee and Florida had the most illegal seizures of the drug with 130 and 113 respectively. 

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/european-nation-bans-short-domestic-flights-over-climate-worries-private-jet-flights-still-allowed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France Bans Short-Haul Domestic Flights</a>
<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/france" target="_blank" rel="noopener">France</a> banned short-haul domestic <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/air-travel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flights</a> in a decree published Tuesday over concerns that the trips will accelerate <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>. 
The new <a href="https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000047571222" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decree</a> will prohibit flights when a rail trip of less than two and a half hours is available to travelers, effectively ceasing flights between the cities of Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyons, and the Paris-Orly International Airport. Clément Beaune, the nation’s transport minister, said in a <a href="https://www.ecologie.gouv.fr/clement-beaune-salue-publication-du-decret-qui-rend-effective-linterdiction-des-lignes-aeriennes-en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> that he strongly supports the move. The decree did not specifically mention private jets, however. 
Tina Turner Dead At 83
And, iconic singer Tina Turner died Tuesday at the age of 83 after a long illness in Switzerland, her management team revealed today. &#8220;It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner,&#8221; In a statement posted on Turner’s page says, &#8220;With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow.”
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Wednesday

Wednesday Afternoon Update: DeSantis Officially Running, Tina Turner Dead At 83, One Year Anniversary Of Uvalde Shooting

Drugs

Florida

France

Hollywood

Joe Biden

Morning Wire

Podcast

Ron DeSantis

Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, the former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde">Uvalde</a> school district police chief, explained his crucial, tragic decisions in an interview after the shooting in May of last year.
Arredondo carried out an interview with authorities on the day following the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, that resulted in the deaths of nineteen students and two teachers. The interview was acquired by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/10/us/uvalde-school-massacre-arredondo-interview/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN.</a>
He said the main decision point happened when he saw other classrooms with children inside of them. 
“Once I realized that was going on, my first thought is that we need to vacate. We have him contained – and I know this is horrible and I know it’s [what] our training tells us to do but – we have him contained, there’s probably going to be some deceased in there, but we don’t need any more from out here,” Arredondo said. 
“The ammunition was penetrating the walls at that point,” Arredondo <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/09/uvalde-chief-pete-arredondo-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Texas Tribune in June of last year. “We’ve got him cornered, we’re unable to get to him. You realize you need to evacuate those classrooms while we figured out a way to get in.”
Arredondo reportedly maintained that decision for more than an hour, even once he thought he heard the shooter loading his weapon again and after it was known that children were stuck inside the room with the gunman. 
While he told the Tribune that he “didn’t issue any orders” and “called for assistance and asked for an extraction tool to open the door,” the new interview showed that wasn’t true. 
He said that he told officers to form a “pyramid” on one side of the hallway to keep away from crossfire if the shooter emerged. He also decided to get people out of the building instead of going after the shooter.
&#8220;We’re going to clear out this building before we do any breach,” Arredondo told law enforcement in the hallway, as was reportedly heard on body camera footage. “As soon as they clear this room, I’m going to verify what’s been vacated, guys, before we do any kind of breaching.”
“Time’s on our side right now. I know we probably have kids in there, but we’ve got to save the lives of the other ones,” he continued. 
In the interview, Arredondo said, “We’re going to get scrutinized, I’m expecting that. We’re getting scrutinized for why we didn’t go in there.” 
“I know what the firepower [the shooter] had, based on what shells I saw, the holes in the wall in the room next to his. I also know I had students that were around there that weren’t in the immediate threat besides the ones I know were in the immediate threat and the preservation of life around, everything around him, I felt was priority,” he explained. “Because I know there’s probably victims in there and with the shots I heard, I know there’s probably somebody who’s going to be deceased. I know these weren’t,” he said of those who were in the other classrooms.
He also said he thought the door in the hallway was locked but didn’t try to get it open. However, he previously said he tried to open the doors with another officer. 
Children inside with the shooter <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/01/us/uvalde-911-classroom-call-delay/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tried</a> to get help from the police while Uvalde police officers were standing by in the hallway. United States Border Patrol Tactical Unit personnel eventually <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/uvalde-police-chief-reveals-reason-slow-response" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shot</a> the gunman. In August, Arredondo was <a href="https://people.com/crime/uvalde-school-police-chief-said-he-contained-shooter-classroom-protect-kids-outside/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fired</a>.

43166872-D98F-44BE-A032-7EE24B84A021_1_201_a

Former Uvalde Police Chief Explains Reason For Not Going After Shooter In Newly Released Interview

Actor <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/topic/matthew-mcconaughey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthew McConaughey</a> visited Congress shortly after the horrific school shooting in his home town of Uvalde, Texas, and he shared what he learned in a no-holds-barred op-ed that blistered both parties.
<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/conservatives-slam-gun-control-activist-matthew-mcconaughey-thats-gonna-be-a-no-from-me-dawg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">McConaughey</a> explained in the <a href="https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a41502792/matthew-mcconaughey-gun-reform-uvalde/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a>, which was published on Tuesday, that he had gone to Washington, D.C., hoping to find people there who wanted to see change and perhaps to be a part of bringing about that change. Instead, he said, he found a number who were unwilling to take risks because they feared it could impact their chances at being re-elected.
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i hope i told it well <a href="https://t.co/Zm8bV9JUPI">https://t.co/Zm8bV9JUPI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/esquire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@esquire</a> <a href="https://t.co/AoF3zq2ztO">pic.twitter.com/AoF3zq2ztO</a>
&mdash; Matthew McConaughey (@McConaughey) <a href="https://twitter.com/McConaughey/status/1579828994182029312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Writing this story was hard. It’s personal—for me, but more so for the victims and their families, who have paid the ultimate cost. Which is why I’ve hesitated to write it,&#8221; McConaughey prefaced the article. &#8220;Observing from the front lines, then sharing what I saw—it makes me feel a bit like a fraud. Am I trespassing? Sharing sacred secrets that are not my stories to tell? I hope not.&#8221;
The Oscar-winning actor, who grew up in Uvalde, headed home as soon as he heard about the shooting. &#8220;This would be a journey with a one-way ticket. We had no sense of how long we’d go for, nor a plan beyond showing up. But we knew that if we did, purpose would intercept us,&#8221; he said — and when he arrived with his wife, model Camila Alves, they made a point to avoid media. Instead, they went from home to home — where they hugged, listened to, and spoke with the families who had just endured the unthinkable.
He then turned to the topic of gun control — and his own early experience with a father who taught him that firearms were to be treated with respect and used only in the proper fashion.
&#8220;I was nine, and I still remember the sober tone he assumed while presenting it. &#8216;This is a tool, son,&#8217; he said. &#8216;It can feed you, and it can take a life. You must give it full respect,’” McConaughey wrote of receiving his first BB gun. &#8220;He instilled in me the rules of engagement: barrel management, muzzle control, safety catch, secure storage, the awareness of what’s behind your target.&#8221;
His belief that protecting the Second Amendment came along with a responsibility to protect children sent him to Washington, D.C., shortly thereafter. He said that he had initially intended to try to meet with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), but that he had eventually set up a number of meetings with members of both parties from all over the country.
&#8220;I arrived in Washington with such a reverence for our government and those who run it. While I’m not going to say that I lost that reverence, I did see the most powerful legislators in America playing an implicit political game, one they seemed to be handcuffed to, even systematically imprisoned by, as if it were the price of entry,&#8221; the actor continued, noting that one of the key takeaways from his trip to the nation&#8217;s capital was a crash course in just how frustrating politics can be for those in the middle of it.
&#8220;It sometimes feels like politicians don’t really want solutions, because solutions would put them out of a job. Optics are often prized over substance—who gets the credit often takes precedence over whom that credit is serving, or how well,&#8221; he wrote, adding, &#8220;With a disparity between belief and action, it’s hard to be in the make-a-difference business if you’re only in the reelection business.&#8221;
McConaughey&#8217;s conclusion was simple: the American people needed to take the power back from both party&#8217;s extremes.
&#8220;We are reasonable and responsible, and we share more values than we’re being told we do—and we believe that meeting each other in the middle is in service of the greater good. We have the majority. We have the numbers,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;That’s why it’s high time we take the megaphone back from the extremists who’ve been manufacturing these false fractures among us. They’ve been selling us soft porn at the pep rally for too long. It’s time to kick them off the port and starboard sides of the boat on which American democracy sails &#8230; or at least relegate them to mopping the deck.&#8221;

Press Secretary Jean-Pierre Holds Daily White House Briefing

Matthew McConaughey Blows Up Both Parties In Op-Ed: ‘They’ve Been Selling Us Soft Porn At The Pep Rally’

Matthew McConaughey Blows Up Both Parties In Esquire Op-Ed

Congress

Matthew McConaughey

Mitch McConnell

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde">Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District</a> suspended its entire police department on Friday amidst criticism of how it handled the mass shooting that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-student-survived-massacre-by-playing-dead-laying-on-top-of-dying-classmate">killed over a dozen school</a> children.
&#8220;The District remains committed to resolving issues with verifiable evidence. Decisions concerning the UCISD police department have been pending the results of the Texas Police Chiefs Association and JPPI investigation. Recent developments have uncovered additional concerns with department operations,&#8221; the district said in a statement.
The district said Lt. Miguel Hernandez and Ken Mueller had been placed on leave, and other police department members would be placed in different roles for the time being. District officials have requested that the Texas Department of Public Safety handle school security in the police department&#8217;s absence.
&#8220;We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition,&#8221; the district said.
Nineteen students and two teachers were murdered at Robb Elementary School last May, when a gunman broke into a classroom and began firing. Although law enforcement made it outside the classroom relatively quickly, it took over one hour for them to stop the gunman. Footage of the school’s hallway showed officers standing outside the classroom, with the shooter still inside.
“He shot the next person’s door,” one fourth-grader who survived recalled to local news outlet <a href="https://www.kens5.com/article/news/special-reports/uvalde-school-shooting/its-time-to-die-fourth-grade-survivor-uvalde-shooting-recalls-what-gunman-told-student/273-51cc4e26-7a0a-49c0-ba7a-48cdd47fa235">Kens5</a>. “We have a door in the middle. He opened it. He came in and he crouched a little bit and he said, he said, ‘It’s time to die.’”
The gunman was killed by authorities.
The Uvalde School Board voted unanimously in August to f<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-uvalde-school-board-votes-unanimously-to-fire-police-chief-pete-arredondo">ire Police Chief Pete Arredondo</a>, following the district&#8217;s recommendation that he be fired. Arredondo did not show up to the board meeting. His lawyer said in a statement that Arrendondo was refusing to participate &#8220;in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching.&#8221;
People in the room reportedly applauded after he was fired.
This is a developing story; refresh the page for updates.

Uvalde Families Grieve For Loved Ones Killed In School Mass Shooting

Entire Uvalde School Police Department Suspended By District

BREAKING: Entire Uvalde School Police Department Suspended By District

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> Department of Public Safety (DPS) released guidance for how it wants officers to respond to an active shooter threat as a new school year kicks off in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uvalde</a>.
DPS officers made up some of the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/17/law-enforcement-failure-uvalde-shooting-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> 376 law enforcement agents from multiple agencies that responded to the Robb Elementary shooting on May 24. It was <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/06/uvalde-school-shooting-dps-investigation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> Tuesday that five of those DPS officers will face an investigation to determine if they violated any policies in the response and weigh potential disciplinary action.
The clarified DPS instructions were included in a letter from July and require officers to treat anyone who fires a weapon at a school as “an active shooter until he is neutralized.” The letter also instructs officers to never treat an active shooter as a “barricaded subject,” according to Statesman and KVUE investigative reporter Tony Plohetski.
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Also, DPS has released a letter from July in which DPS officers have been instructed that they should treat any person who fires a weapon at a school &quot;remains an active shooter until he is neutralized.&quot; That person can never be treated as a &quot;barricaded subject.&quot; (3/3)
&mdash; Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) <a href="https://twitter.com/tplohetski/status/1567241103509700609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Uvalde students and teachers returned to class Tuesday, a later-than-usual start for the district as it focused on beefing up security measures at all campuses before the beginning of the school year, ABC affiliate KVUE <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/special-reports/uvalde-school-shooting/uvalde-cisd-students-school-shooting-aftermath/269-26811476-1414-4996-9a9d-0e169db8f82e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The district installed 8-foot non-scalable fences and added security cameras. Dozens of law enforcement officers will also be deployed to each campus, according to the outlet.
Immediately following the tragedy, the DPS and the federal government launched investigations into the local police response to identify what went wrong and how law enforcement can respond better in the future.
“The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events,” said DOJ spokesman Anthony Coley, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/justice-department-launches-probe-of-uvalde-polices-botched-response-to-school-shooting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “The review will be conducted with the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing.”
Law enforcement officials have faced continued criticism for failures in their response to the active shooter threat. Officers responding to the shooting at Robb Elementary School waited outside the classroom for over an hour as the 18-year-old lone gunman murdered children and teachers inside.
Former Uvalde CISD Chief Pete Arredondo, who was one of the first officials on scene after the shooter entered the school, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-uvalde-school-board-votes-unanimously-to-fire-police-chief-pete-arredondo">fired</a> by the Uvalde school board late last month. Community members <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/us/uvalde-school-police-pete-arredondo/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> reacted with applause when the board announced its unanimous decision to fire Arredondo.

Robb Elementary School

Texas DPS Clarifies Instructions For Responding To Active Shooter, 5 Officers Face Investigation

Texas DPS Clarifies Instructions For Officers Responding To Active Shooter Threat, 5 Officers Face Investigation

Investigation

Police

The Uvalde school board voted unanimously on Wednesday night to immediately fire police chief Pete Arredondo over the disastrous response to the shooting at Robb Elementary earlier this year that resulted in the deaths of 19 children.
The disgraced police chief refused to attend the meeting because he was scared for his safety.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District had already <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/uvalde-school-board-police-chief-pete-arredondos-firing/story?id=88692404">recommended</a> that Arredondo be fired.
“Chief Arredondo will not participate in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching and respectfully requests the Board immediately reinstate him, with all backpay and benefits and close the complaint as unfounded,” Arredondo&#8217;s attorney George Hyde, said in a statement.
The board deliberated for over an hour Wednesday evening before making its decision. Community members <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/24/us/uvalde-school-police-pete-arredondo/index.html">reportedly</a> reacted with applause when the board announced its decision to fire Arredondo.
Uvalde citizens have waited weeks for the decision after the first meeting to consider Arredondo&#8217;s firing was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/school-district-cancels-meeting-that-was-set-to-consider-uvalde-police-chiefs-firing">canceled</a> last month, just two days after the recommendation to fire the police chief was placed on the agenda.
Arredondo was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uvalde-school-district-police-chief-placed-on-leave-as-investigation-into-shooting-continues">placed on leave</a> last month as criticism against him mounted when more details came out on the police response to the shooting in which a lone gunman killed 19 children and two teachers. Nearly 400 law enforcement officers responded to the scene of the shooting, but the shooter remained in the classroom for 77 minutes before officers breached the door and killed him.
Recently released <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-new-eerie-body-cam-footage-from-uvalde-shooting-released">footage</a> of the school’s hallway showed officers standing outside the classroom for over an hour while the shooter was still in the classroom with the victims, some of whom were still alive and calling 911 for help.
Body cam footage obtained by CNN also showed Arredondo attempting to negotiate with the shooter from down the hall, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-uvalde-police-chief-tried-to-negotiate-with-shooter">reported</a>.
“Let me know if there’s any kids there or anything!” Arredondo said on tape. “This can be peaceful!”
In early June, Arredondo <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/09/uvalde-chief-pete-arredondo-interview/">spoke</a> with the Texas Tribune, addressing some of the criticisms of his response and claiming officers acted appropriately.
“Not a single responding officer ever hesitated, even for a moment, to put themselves at risk to save the children,” Arredondo said. “We responded to the information that we had and had to adjust to whatever we faced. Our objective was to save as many lives as we could, and the extraction of the students from the classrooms by all that were involved saved over 500 of our Uvalde students and teachers before we gained access to the shooter and eliminated the threat.”
The UCISD police chief also told the Tribune that when he arrived on scene, he did not consider himself the commanding officer, even though his department was the first to arrive. Arredondo further claimed that no one told him that students in the classroom were calling 911 as the shooter continued his killing.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.
This article was updated after publication to include additional information.

Mass Shooting At Elementary School In Uvalde, Texas Leaves At Least 21 Dead

Uvalde School Board Votes Unanimously To Fire Police Chief Pete Arredondo

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/houston">Houston</a> Astros baseball club gave thousands of tickets and welcomed ten busses filled with 500 <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/uvalde">Uvalde</a>, Texas, residents Sunday in the latest show of support for the community that lost 19 children and two elementary school teachers in May after a lone gunman carried out the third-deadliest mass school shooting in American history.
&#8220;We can all relate to the tough time they&#8217;ve been through, so this is just a little distraction and give a little something back, and that&#8217;s what the Astros are about,&#8221; Jim Crane, Astros owner, told MLB.com.
Sunday&#8217;s game follows a private brunch hosted by Crane last month for the affected families and city officials. Those who lost a loved one received an autographed Astros jersey customized with their loved one&#8217;s names on the back and a gift bag that included a $1,000 H-E-B gift card.
Crane and the team&#8217;s players and staff invited the grieving community to Minute Maid Park for Uvalde Strong Day. The gameday experience included a walk around the outfield track, a pregame ceremony, and a ceremonial first pitch.
Faith Mata, 21, lost her ten-year-old sister, Tess, during the horrific event at Robb Elementary School earlier this year — and she threw the first pitch before Sunday&#8217;s game against the Oakland Athletics.
Mata said her sister loved watching second baseman Jose Altuve play.
&#8220;Any time the Astros&#8217; games were on, she&#8217;d throw on her [Astros] T-shirt and just run into the living room and just cheer for them, even though she didn&#8217;t know what was going on,&#8221; Mata told <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.mlb.com/astros/news/astros-host-uvalde-victims-at-minute-maid-park" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MLB.com</a>. &#8220;She just loved Altuve.&#8221;
Jerry Mata, the father of Faith and Tess, said he couldn&#8217;t express his gratitude enough when the professional baseball asked to host the community.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t put it into words,&#8221; the father told MLB.com. &#8220;I wanted to pass out when [the Astros] asked.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s an honor, and I&#8217;m just like, stunned,&#8221; Mata added. &#8220;It feels good, and I know my daughter is up above and looking down with a smile and saying, &#8216;Go get &#8217;em, sister!'&#8221;
Jerry Cazares, who lost his 9-year-old daughter, Jacklyn, said while his family takes things one day at a time, the support brought a lot of emotions to his family, who were happy to attend the game.
&#8220;It&#8217;s something different,&#8221; Cazares told MLB.com. &#8220;For me, it&#8217;s just a little escape from being at home, and I&#8217;m glad we were invited, and we&#8217;re going to make the best of it.&#8221;
&#8220;My daughter would have been happy to be out here,&#8221; he added. &#8220;[That&#8217;s] where it hurts. Overall, we&#8217;re happy to be here.&#8221;
While the Astros played nine innings on Sunday, fans had the chance to purchase Uvalde Strong t-shirts, with all proceeds going to Uvalde Strong efforts, a 50/50 raffle awarding $10,000 with the rest of the funds raised going to Uvalde Strong initiatives.
Abraham Gonzales, who teaches physical education at Robb Elementary, said the trip would go a long way in helping Uvalde through the healing process that forever changed the community.
&#8220;It means a lot,&#8221; Gonzales told MLB.com. &#8220;The Astros have been so great to our community — we&#8217;re hurt, but it doesn&#8217;t get any better than this.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s kind of just what it means to them right now,&#8221; he added. That makes me really happy.&#8221;
Gonzales, who also formerly coached softball in Uvalde, gave Astros manager Dusty Baker a maroon and white Uvalde baseball cap.
&#8220;I had an extra cap from when I coached, so I thought before I left the house today, I said, &#8216;You know what, I&#8217;m going to present Dusty a cap,&#8217; and I actually told Dusty, I said, &#8216;Any time you need a rally cap, just rub on this, and you guys will get a for-sure hit,'&#8221; Gonzales told MLB.com.
Baker sported the cap before the game, saying the team not only showed up to play baseball for themselves and the fans but also to help aid the healing process for those impacted by the school shooting.
&#8220;This is what we&#8217;re here for,&#8221; Baker told MLB.com.
During the pre-ceremony before the Astros and Athletics faced each other on Sunday, Uvalde residents met with Crane, Altuve, the team&#8217;s third baseman Alex Bregman, and pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.
A young fan asked if the Astros could hit a home run in honor of the Uvalde community.
Within the first inning of Sunday&#8217;s game, Bregman knocked a two-run home run out of the park leading to a 6-3 victory against the A&#8217;s.

Oakland Athletics v Houston Astros

‘Uvalde Strong Day:’ Houston Astros Honor Thousands Of Grieving Community Members

Houston

Houston Astros

Madison County, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-carolina">North Carolina</a>, is planning to put <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/guns">semi-automatic rifles</a> in each of its six schools heading into the 2022-2023 school year for enhanced security in the case of an active shooter threat.
County Sheriff Buddy Harwood announced that the rifles will be stored in secured safes at each of the county&#8217;s elementary, middle, and high schools. The six schools will also store breaching tools and ammunition in the safes that law enforcement could access in the case of an emergency.
“We were able to put an AR-15 rifle and safe in all of our schools in the county,&#8221; Harwood <a href="https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/madison/2022/08/05/madison-county-schools-add-ar-15-rifles-enhance-security/10234037002/">told</a> the Asheville Citizen Times. &#8220;We&#8217;ve also got breaching tools to go into those safes. We&#8217;ve got extra magazines with ammo in those safes.”
The Sheriff said that storing the breaching tools and AR-15s in school safes will help law enforcement act more quickly in the case of an emergency. Having the option to obtain a semi-automatic weapon in the instance of an active school shooter could save time and help law enforcement officers save lives, according to Harwood.
“Hopefully we&#8217;ll never need it, but I want my guys to be as prepared as prepared can be,” the Sheriff commented.
Harwood admitted that storing semi-automatic rifles in schools is not ideal, but said it’s necessary given the recent school shootings around the country. “I want the parents of Madison County to know we&#8217;re going to take every measure necessary to ensure our kids are safe in this school system,” he said.
The county’s decision stems from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/uvalde-cops-knew-kids-were-still-alive-inside-the-school-and-waited-outside-anyway-report">police failures</a> during the May 24 Robb Elementary School mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a lone gunman murdered 19 children and two adults. Law enforcement officers waited in the hallway outside the classroom for over an hour after the shooter began killing elementary-aged children at Robb Elementary. One of the first <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/uvalde-shooting-police-waited-hour-backup-rcna30622">excuses</a> given by police for their hesitation after arriving on scene was that they were ill-equipped to engage the shooter and needed backup.
“Those officers were in that building for so long, and that suspect was able to infiltrate that building and injure and kill so many kids,” Harwood said of the Uvalde massacre. “I just want to make sure my deputies are prepared in the event that happens.&#8221;

AR-15

North Carolina County Will Put AR-15s In Every School

Guns

North Carolina

Schools

Climate activist and former Democratic Vice President Al Gore on Sunday said &#8220;climate deniers&#8221; were comparable to the police officers who failed to act during the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Appearing as a guest on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet the Press,&#8221; Gore assailed Republicans and tactics like the Senate filibuster for preventing Democrats from passing legislation to tackle global warming. Gore compared &#8220;climate deniers&#8221; in Congress to police officers who were equipped and trained to deal with mass shooters, but failed to stop the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in <a href="https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d005cf551ad52eea13d8753ede93320c/Uvalde%20Robb%20Shooting%20Report%20-%20Texas%20House%20Committee.pdf?_ga=2.216812497.696777951.1658086082-733005564.1658086082">Uvalde</a>.
&#8220;You know, the climate deniers are really in some ways similar to all of those, almost 400 law enforcement officers in Uvalde, Texas, who were waiting outside an unlocked door while the children were being massacred,&#8221; Gore told host Chuck Todd.
&#8220;They heard the screams. They heard the gunshots and nobody has stepped forward,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;God bless those families that suffered so much. And law enforcement officials tell us that’s not typical of what law enforcement usually does.&#8221;
&#8220;And confronted with this global emergency, what we’re doing with our inaction in failing to walk through the door and stop the killing is not typical of what we are capable of as human beings. We do have the solutions. And I think these extreme events that are getting steadily worse and more severe are really beginning to change minds. We have to have unity as a nation to come together and stop making this a political football. It shouldn’t be a partisan issue.&#8221;
Gore then blasted the filibuster for preventing Congress from taking action, again comparing climate change to the Uvalde shooting.
&#8220;The same reason it is seemingly impossible for the Congress to pass legislation banning these weapons of war, these assault rifles that are being used to murder children in classrooms and create hundreds of mass casualty events already this year and that’s getting worse, the same reason we can’t pass legislation to, for example, to reinstate the ban on assault weapons is the same reason that we can’t pass climate legislation: we have the minority government,&#8221; said Gore.
&#8220;We have the filibuster still, which ought to be eliminated,&#8221; he added. &#8220;We have big money playing much too large a role in our politics, lobbyists for the fossil fuel industry, and they’re still running all of these advertisements trying to convince people that &#8216;it’s not that bad&#8217; or &#8216;they’ve got this, don’t worry about it.&#8217; We have got to rise to this challenge.&#8221;
&#8220;We, the people, have to solve this, and we have to instruct those who are in positions of leadership to start doing the right thing. Our survival as a species may depend upon it.&#8221;

Al Gore

Al Gore Compares ‘Climate Deniers’ To Police In Uvalde, Attacks Senate Filibuster For Blocking Action On Climate Change

Al Gore Compares 'Climate Deniers' To Police In Uvalde, Attacks Senate Filibuster For Blocking Action On Climate Change

Climate Change

Filibuster

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