Uvalde school shooting: Report on city's independent investigation to be released

Uvalde school shooting report to be released today

Thursday afternoon, the Uvalde City Council will hear Austin-area investigator Jesse Prado present his independent investigation into the Uvalde Police Department's response to the Robb Elementary School shooting.

UVALDE, Texas - A report on the city of Uvalde's independent investigation into the May 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School is set to be released.

A special meeting has been scheduled for 2 p.m. today (March 7) to present the findings from the investigation.

This meeting comes nearly two years after former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin issued a press release expressing frustration over obtaining information about the shooting from the Uvalde County District Attorney and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

A lawsuit was also filed in December 2022 against DA Christina Mitchell, whom McLaughlin claimed was withholding information from the city’s independent investigator. That lawsuit was then refiled in August.

At the time, McLaughlin alleged a cover-up was happening in the DA’s office because Mitchell’s chief investigator Shayne Gilland was "onsite on May 24 at Robb Elementary School."

The investigation was supposed to take 60 to 90 days to complete. Former Austin Police detective Jesse Prado was selected to conduct the internal investigation.

Uvalde City Council records show the city has paid nearly $100,000 for the independent investigation.

Following the presentation of the findings, citizens who signed up prior to the meeting will have the opportunity to provide input before Council considers waiving attorney-client privilege regarding the investigation.

Uvalde school shooting DOJ report

A new DOJ report said law enforcement that responded to the Uvalde shooting in 2022 showed no urgency to act in a certain matter. The report's release on signifies that police involved in that deadly event failed to treat it as an active shooter situation. FOX 7 Austin's Mike Warren spoke to Mike Metro, a former U.S. Secret Service agent and current CEO of M6 Global Defense, on the report.

This report comes almost two months after the Department of Justice released a nearly 600-page report where investigators identified several critical failures and other breakdowns before, during and after the mass shooting that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers.

There hasn’t been much movement since then, aside from a statement by the city of Uvalde on Jan. 25 in response to the DOJ report, which said in part: "We anticipate the results of that investigation will be completed in the coming weeks. As a city, we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure our law enforcement officials have the resources and training they need to keep the people of Uvalde safe."