Crumbling Under Pressure: Uvalde Police & School District Allegedly Refuse To Cooperate With Texas Probe
June 1 2022, Published 4:08 p.m. ET
The Texas Department of Public Safety is reportedly facing pushback from the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Independent School District police force as they investigate what happened at Robb Elementary School last week.
Both the P.D. and school district police force "are no longer cooperating," multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News, claiming a shift happened after Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw admitted officials made the "wrong decision" by waiting to confront the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.
"From the benefit of hindsight, where I'm sitting now, of course, it was not the right decision," McCraw said. "It was the wrong decision, period. There's no excuse for that."
McCraw explained they were under the impression it was a barricaded suspect rather than an active shooter.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety previously told the news outlet that both the Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde CISD Police had been cooperating up until recently.
"The chief of the Uvalde CISD Police provided an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers that was made two days ago," the spokesperson said.
Pedro "Pete" Arredondo, who led the law enforcement response after gunman Salvador Ramos unleashed an attack on Robb Elementary School last Tuesday, squashed those claims on Wednesday and told CNN he has been in contact with "DPS everyday."
He said they will release further information at a more suitable time. "We're going to be respectful to the family," Arredondo later added. "We're going to do that eventually. Whenever this is done and the families quit grieving, then we'll do that obviously."
The school police chief has been at the center of controversy over his choice to stand back and wait for reinforcements while many parents pleaded to save their kids that fateful day.
It has since been deemed one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. Before opening fire at Robb Elementary, Ramos also shot his grandmother. She is expected to recover.