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The mayor of Uvalde, Texas, is denying portions of a report claiming that a police officer saw the gunman outside Robb Elementary school before the mass shooting, but didn’t fire his weapon.
A report released on Wednesday by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT) at Texas State University claims that a Uvalde, Texas, police officer saw the gunman outside the elementary school and asked his supervisor if he could shoot, but the supervisor either didn’t hear what the officer said or didn’t respond in time, which allowed the suspect to enter the elementary school.
Nineteen students and two teachers died on May 24 as a result of the shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said in a statement released on Friday that no Uvalde, Texas police officer saw the alleged shooter before he entered the school, according to FOX 7 Austin, instead stating that the police officer spotted a “coach with children on the playground.”
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin speaks during a news conference held by Gov. Greg Abbott days after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27.
(Reuters/Veronica G. Cardenas)
“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,” said McLaughlin. “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.”
The ALERRT report states that the police officer was nearly 148 yards away from the door through which the gunman entered the school, which would make it well within the range of an AR-15 platform rifle. However, Texas patrol rifle qualifications don’t require officers to fire shots at targets that are beyond 100 yards away, according to the report.
According to the ALERRT report, a separate Uvalde school district police officer sped past the gunman and didn’t see him before entering the school at 11:33 a.m.
UVALDE, TEXAS SHOOTER ENTERED SCHOOL UNDISRUPTED THROUGH UNLOCKED DOOR, DPS OFFICIAL SAYS
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, second from left, speaks with Texas Department of Public Safety troopers outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Wednesday, May 25.
(Jerry Lara/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
“If any of these three key issues had worked out differently, they could have stopped the tragedy that followed,” ALERRT wrote.
Overall, McLaughlin says the report “does not give a complete and accurate account of what happened.”
He also disputed the timeline listed on the ALERRT report and the Texas Department of Public Safety, stating that DPS troopers were at the school doors around 3 minutes after the alleged shooter walked into the building.
McLaughlin said that he doesn’t agree with the “premature release of piecemeal information” that is associated with the investigation before it’s complete, saying that it does a “disservice to families who lost children or parents” in the shooting.
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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)
“I firmly believe it is imperative the families are provided with complete, unbiased, and comprehensive information about this incident,” McLaughlin said. “I will continue to advocate for comprehensive information to be provided to the families and citizens of Uvalde and to make every effort that something like this does not happen again.”
He reiterated that the Uvalde County DA and Texas DPS have requested that no records related to the investigation should be released. When all investigations and reviews are completed, the release of records will be reevaluated, McLaughlin added.
Fox News’ Paul Best contributed to this report.
