AUSTIN (AP) — The mayor of Uvalde on Friday disputed a new report that alleges authorities missed chances to quickly end the massacre at a Texas elementary school, again reflecting the lack of definitive answers about the slow law enforcement response to one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history.
Mayor Don McLaughlin said no Uvalde police officer saw the gunman outside Robb Elementary School before he went inside and that none of them had an opportunity to fire on the shooter. His comments contradict a critique of the decision-making by law enforcement that was released this week by tactical response experts at Texas State University.
The differing accounts and public rebuke of the report reiterated how, more than six weeks after the May 24 shooting, questions remain about how and why police armed with rifles and bulletproof shields waited more than an hour before confronting the gunman in a fourth-grade classroom where 21 people were killed, including 19 children.
