Texas lawmakers OK former Uvalde mayor's effort to fix police failures in Robb Elementary attack

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas lawmakers connected Monday passed a program sponsored by Uvalde’s erstwhile politician to hole constabulary failures laid bare by the hesitant instrumentality enforcement effect to the Robb Elementary School shooting successful 2022, sending the measure to the politician days up of the 3rd day of the massacre.

Nineteen students and 2 teachers were killed and 18 radical were injured successful 1 of the worst schoolhouse shootings successful U.S. history. Saturday is the day of the attack.

The measurement fixed last support by the authorities Senate and sent to Gov. Greg Abbott is dubbed the “The Uvalde Strong Act” and is meant to close the problems successful the dilatory and often chaotic instrumentality enforcement effect that time with amended grooming and coordination betwixt agencies and basal instrumentality requirements.

Nearly 400 local, authorities and national officers waited much than an hour to unit their mode into a schoolroom wherever the gunman was earlier sidesplitting him. Terrified students wrong the schoolroom called 911 arsenic parents begged officers — immoderate of whom could perceive shots being fired portion they stood successful a hallway — to spell in.

The bill's author, first-year Republican authorities Rep. Don McLaughlin, was Uvalde politician astatine the clip and was captious of the instrumentality enforcement effect that day.

“The Uvalde Strong Act is aimed astatine fixing the breakdowns successful connection and coordination that were exposed successful the Robb Elementary shooting,” McLaughlin said. “This is astir keeping our schools safer. ... We beryllium it to the families to instrumentality enactment that truly matters.”

The measure requires schoolhouse districts and instrumentality enforcement to conscionable annually to make progressive shooter effect plans, and mandates officers beryllium trained connected however to respond to an progressive shooter astatine superior and secondary schools.

The measurement besides requires enhanced incidental bid grooming and communal assistance agreements among agencies.

School districts would beryllium required to person astatine slightest 1 breaching instrumentality and ballistic shield disposable astatine each campus. And the measure requires exigency aesculapian work providers to record reports if they are called to an progressive shooter scene.

Multiple investigations into the instrumentality enforcement effect recovered cascading problems successful training, communication, enactment and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their ain lives implicit those of children and teachers.

Former Uvalde schoolhouse territory constabulary main Pete Arredondo and erstwhile schoolhouse constabulary serviceman Adrian Gonzales person been charged with aggregate counts of kid endangerment and abandonment. Both person pleaded not blameworthy and are scheduled for proceedings successful October.

The families of the victims person respective lawsuits pending successful national and authorities courts, including a $500 cardinal lawsuit against Texas authorities constabulary officials and officers.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.