Police made serious lapses in their response to the mass shooting at an elementary school in Juvalde, Texas, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed, the Justice Department said, adding that the victims "deserve better."
In the secretariat's report, the police officers are accused of waiting more than an hour to enter the classroom where the 18-year-old assailant and the students and employees of the school were, which is why the children had to call the police in a panic.
"The victims and survivors of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School deserve better." The police response to the school on May 24, 2022 โ and the response of officials in the hours and days afterward โ is a failure,โ Justice Secretary Merrick Garland said in a statement.
The policemen, as stated in the report, did not immediately confront the attacker who was among the students and employees for 77 minutes before he was killed by special police forces.
The investigation established that the police officers, who were the first to arrive at the scene, began to storm the classroom, but - after being greeted by gunfire - approached the situation as a "scenario in which the attacker was barricaded" and not as if it were active attack.
Police, including the school district's police chief, focused on evacuating other classrooms and requesting more police resources, leaving the children with the attacker, the report said.
The Secretariat for Justice also points to a lack of leadership, stating that none of the police officers on the scene took the main responsibility.
The mass killing in Juvalde is one of the deadliest in schools in American history. It was committed by a former student, and the murdered children were between 9 and 11 years old.
