AUSTIN, Texas — The city of Uvalde sued the local prosecutor's office Thursday for access to records and other investigative materials on the May shooting at Robb Elementary School in May, which left 19 children and two teachers dead, a move that highlights ongoing tensions over the slow police response and information flow on the rampage.
The lawsuit filed in Uvalde County against District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee says the lack of access to the May 24 massacre has impacted an independent investigator's ability to look for policy violations by local responding officers and determine whether internal disciplinary actions are needed. Busbee is currently conducting a criminal investigation into the shooting, which will include examining a report she is awaiting from the Texas Department of Public Safety. The state police chief said it would come by the end of the year.
The Uvalde community has waited too long for answers and transparency in regards to the Robb Elementary shooting incident, Uvalde city officials said in a statement.
An employee at the Uvalde District Attorney's Office didn't want to say anything Thursday when he was reached by phone.
The lawsuit says that the City was provided with a non-disclosure agreement and criminal investigation privilege, and the only information available to an independent investigation agency for the city s review is from city witnesses. When asked for more records, Busbee cited the criminal investigation, which she told city officials would be done by November.
The lawsuit states that the information, which has already been handed over to other agencies conducting similar reviews, would not be available to anyone from the city, according to a statement by city officials.
A legislative investigation report says nearly 400 law enforcement officials rushed to the school the day of the shooting, but all of them waited more than 70 minutes to enter a fourth-grade classroom to confront the gunman.
Two officers have been fired because of their actions at the scene and others have been placed on leave or resigned. In October, Col. Steve McCraw, head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, acknowledged mistakes made by officers when confronted for the first time by families of the Uvalde victims over false and shifting accounts from law enforcement and lack of transparency in the available information. McCraw defended his agency, saying they did not fail Uvalde.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin expressed frustration at the lack of information regarding one of the worst school shootings in state history and lashed out at the response to the shooting by state officers.