UVALDE, Texas – Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin is not mincing words when it comes to a recent report released regarding the events of the Robb Elementary massacre on May 24.
“The report by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT) does not give a complete and accurate account of what happened at Robb Elementary School,” McLaughlin said in a press release on Friday.
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The report was published Wednesday and includes previously unknown details about the mass shooting.
McLaughlin takes particular issue with the report indicating that a Uvalde police officer requested permission to shoot the gunman outside the school, before he gained entry, but did not receive an answer so he didn’t shoot.
“No Uvalde police department officer saw the shooter on May 24 prior to him entering the school. No Uvalde police officers had any opportunity to take a shot at the gunman,” McLaughlin said in a statement on Friday.
“A Uvalde Police Department officer saw someone outside, but was unsure of who he saw and observed children in the area as well. Ultimately, it was a coach with children on the playground, not the shooter,” McLaughlin continued.
This is not the first time McLaughlin has criticized the release of information regarding the shooting.
McLaughlin spoke with CNN Tuesday and said he suspects the Texas Department of Public Safety and DPS Director Steven McCraw are “covering up” details.
“They’ve released so much BS in my opinion, that they put themselves in the corner,” he said during the interview.
McLaughlin echoed that sentiment in his statement Friday saying, in part, “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.”
He also takes issue with the detailed timeline published in the ALERRT report, as well as the one provided by McCraw.
“Contrary to the ALERRT Report and the timeline provided by the Department of Public Safety after the Senate hearing, DPS troopers were onsite and at the door of Robb Elementary School approximately 3 minutes after the shooter entered the building on May 24,” said McLaughlin.
Both timelines explicitly state that multiple Uvalde Police Department officers entered the school minutes after the shooter but there is no mention of DPS troopers entering the school at that time — which is a detail McLaughlin says absolutely happened.
The timeline in the ALERRT report doesn’t mention a DPS agent on the scene until 20 minutes after the shooter entered the school and makes no mention of additional DPS officers arriving afterward
“There were dozens of DPS troopers onsite by the time of the breach in the classroom,” McLaughlin said Friday. “I firmly believe it is imperative the families are provided with complete, unbiased, and comprehensive information about this incident.”
Read McLaughlin’s full statement below: