A Texas judge ordered the state’s Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) to start the process of releasing documents regarding police response to the Uvalde school shooting, which left 21 people dead last year.
The 261st Civil District Court Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle granted the request to local outlets that have been attempting to get the documents from TXDPS over the past year, including the Texas Tribune, the outlet reported.
Lyttle ordered TXDPS to make a log of redactions to add to the public records by August 31, meaning that the records will not be immediately available. According to the Tribune, Lyttle said the court will have a hearing about the proposed redactions in September.
Media outlets have filed Texas Public Information Act requests for more information about law enforcement response to the shooting, but TXDPS had refused to grant the requests so far.
UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING: ACTING POLICE CHIEF ON DAY OF MASSACRE PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE
The Robb Elementary School sign is seen covered in flowers and gifts on June 17, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas, the location of a May mass shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
On May 24, 2022, gunman Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School and killed two teachers and 19 children between the ages of 9 and 11. 18 others were injured, including the perpetrator’s grandmother, who was not at the school.
Uvalde Police Department officers stood by for more than 70 minutes before confronting Ramos, allowing him to stay in the school. The department was fiercely criticized at the time for their response.
In the months following the shooting, Texas lawmakers compiled a report that confirmed there were “multiple systemic failures” in the police department’s response.
“They failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety,” the report said.
TEXAS OFFICIALS: UVALDE SHOOTING REPORT REVEALS ‘MULTIPLE SYSTEMIC FAILURES’
Rene Lucero and his wife, Alva, visit a memorial at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, May 31. (AP/Jae C. Hong)
State Rep. Dustin Burrows said that some officers were even given misinformation during the incident.
“In fairness, there were many officers at that scene who were either denied access to the building, we’re told, misinformation, some were even told false information,” Burrows said. “Some were told that the police chief of the consolidated school district was actually inside the room actually negotiating with the shooter, such that they did not know what was happening.”
“The schools five-foot fence was inadequate and three exterior doors were unlocked that day and multiple interior doors were not locked the day of the shooting,” Burrows added.
The report concluded that while 376 law enforcement officers responded to the shooting, there was not an adequate leadership presence at the scene.
Law enforcement, and other first responders, gather outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP/Dario Lopez-Mills)
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Fox News Digital reached out to TXDPS for a statement, but has not yet heard back.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
