UVALDE, Texas – A wide range of emotions played out Thursday inside the Uvalde City Council special meeting.
Parents, relatives, citizens and teachers voiced their anger and frustrations with the lack of answers being released in the investigation more than a month since a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that ended with 19 students and two teachers dead.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin reiterated the city’s hands were tied and they received two letters — one from the Texas Dept. of Public Safety and the other from the Uvalde County District Attorney’s Office — that stated any release of records or information by the city would directly interfere with ongoing investigations by the state and DA’s office.
Upon hearing that information, family members of the victims and residents vented their frustrations and anger with the lack of information they have received. They also questioned why the city could not do more to get answers from the state.
They also called for the removal of Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee. McLaughlin said Busbee was invited to attend Thursday’s meeting but declined.
Also not in attendance on Thursday was city council member and embattled Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo.
Arredondo was sworn in as a council member on May 31, a week after the shooting, but has not attended any council meetings since.
McLaughlin said Thursday was Arredondo’s second consecutive missed meeting, meaning the police chief could be removed from the council if he missed a third straight meeting.
McLaughlin said he has not heard directly from Arredondo since his request for a leave of absence from council meetings was denied. The city’s next scheduled regular meeting is July 12.