A Texas state lawmaker said Thursday he wants a full accounting of “what kind of failures” happened in the police response to the Uvalde school shooting.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who spoke to CNN, said the parents of victims deserve nothing less than a full accounting amid reports the shooter went through an unlocked door and desperate parents begged police to do more to stop him.
Officers did not engage the shooter as he entered, as authorities previously said, and it took almost an hour for tactical teams to breach the classroom where he killed at least 19 children and two adults, sparking loud questions about the response.
“I don’t want to ’Monday morning quarterback’ this thing, but at the end of the day, we have to find out for the future, so that this never happens again, what kind of failures happened,” Mr. Gutierrez said. “And I feel in this situation standing back was not the thing to do.”
Mr. Gutierrez said he spoke to the Texas Rangers, and they suggested there would be a “full-blown report” within the next 24 to 36 hours.
“At the end of the day, I understand that this is an active investigation, but the shooter is dead,” Mr. Gutierrez said. “We’re not talking about motive anymore. We have to figure out where there was a failure and if there was a failure.”
He also condemned fellow lawmakers for allowing the 18-year-old shooter to have legal access to a “militarized weapon.”
“I put that on people that are in power in Texas,” Mr. Gutierrez said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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