As a criticism of the police’s response to last week’s Texas school shooting, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin now says local law enforcement misled no one and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s claims that he was lied to. , “Not true.”
Soon after the shooting, which killed 19 children and two adults, several Texas officials praised the law enforcement response to the tragedy.
“He showed amazing courage by running at the bullets for the sole purpose of trying to save lives,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said at a press conference in Uvalde with Lt. Gov. Patrick on Wednesday, nearly 24 hours after the shooting.
That praise was quickly recited later in the week, as more details emerged about the police response, with 19 officers inside the elementary school for nearly an hour before Border Patrol stormed the classroom and killed the suspect.
Patrick told Fox News on Saturday that law enforcement’s choice not to immediately confront the shooter was “a bad decision, and the price of that decision lives on.”
“No one mentioned the fact that there was this 45-minute-an-hour hold by the police chief of the school district while the shots were still being fired,” Patrick said.
“I take it personally, and I know governors take it personally. And for me, the collective anger of the last six or seven years killed 140 or 150 people in Texas when we weren’t told the truth. .
Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo was the incident commander at the scene who made the “wrong decision” not to confront the suspect immediately because he believed it had changed from an active shooter to a barricade subject. ,” said Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw.
Uvalde Mayor Dan McLaughlin said Monday that local law enforcement had not misled Patrick or any other official.
“Local law enforcement has made no public comment about the specifics of the incident’s investigation or [misled] anyone,” McLaughlin said in an emailed statement to Fox News Digital on Monday.
“Statements made by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick that he was ‘not told the truth’ are not true. All statements and comments made so far regarding the ongoing investigation are being handled by DPS/Texas Rangers.”
McLaughlin also appeared to stand with the school police chief, saying Arredondo, who was elected to the city council earlier this month, could still take the oath if the ceremony took place.
Patrick said Monday that he remains focused on supporting the mayor and the community of Uvalde after the tragedy.
“My goal at this time is to support Mayor McLaughlin and the citizens of Uvalde. Both the governor and I were initially outraged by the information given to the Texas DPS,” Patrick told Fox News Digital Monday evening. “I think the mayor did. Have done a great job in these very difficult times and my focus is still on the families.”
The Justice Department announced Sunday that they were conducting an independent investigation into the police’s response to the mayor’s request.
In a statement, the DOJ said, “The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and the lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter incidents.” Identifying practices.
