Uvalde 2 years later: status of the investigation

For Veronica Mata, the mother of 10-year-old Tess Marie Mata of Uvalde, Texas, who was the victim of the crime, the second year after her daughter’s death feels even more “real.”

“The reality is hitting us that Tess is no longer with us,” she said. “She’s gone and she’s never coming back.”

In the two years since 19 students and two teachers were killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting, some families of the 21 victims are still searching for answers and justice.

The city of Uvalde and the federal government are among the agencies that have investigated the shooting, resulting in an overhaul of city police policies and the implementation of training. Some families say that is not enough and are demanding accountability for the first city officers who arrived at the scene at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022.

“How much more can we take?” Mata asked. “Our girl was taken in the cruelest way possible and we just want people to understand that we are fighting for what is right. And we feel so defeated.”

Here is the current status of the investigation:

Among the numerous investigations being conducted by authorities, the only one still open is a criminal case initiated by Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell. A grand jury began reviewing evidence against hundreds of officers in January.

Prosecutors began their criminal investigation into law enforcement failures shortly after the shooting. Mitchell said in May 2023 that she had been “optimistic” that the investigation would be completed within a year, but added that “given the magnitude of this investigation,” it was “not surprising” that it was still ongoing.

The investigation has now been extended until 2024.

In January, the Justice Department released a scathing report after finding “critical failures” before, during and after the shooting, as well as significant deviations from established protocols in the event of a rampage.

The school district was completely unprepared, the report said. Most officers “lacked specialized, advanced training and preparation to handle such situations” and the school district had cultivated “a culture of complacency regarding the closed-door policy” – both of which contributed to the difficulties encountered in responding to the shooting.

The report stressed that the “most serious failure” was that the police officers who first arrived on the scene withdrew from the classroom and treated the shooter as a barricaded perpetrator rather than an active shooter.

Among those rushing to the school were officers from the Uvalde police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Texas Department of Public Safety. But police waited about 77 minutes before entering a classroom and killing the gunman.

Officers “should have immediately recognized the incident as an active shooter situation and deployed sufficient resources and equipment to immediately and continuously advance toward the threat until they entered classrooms 111/112 and the threat was eliminated,” the report said.

During the shooting, 10-year-old Khloie Torres made several phone calls to 911, whispering and begging police to come and save her and her classmates.

“Please hurry, there are a lot of bodies,” Khloie told the dispatcher. “I know how to handle situations like this. My dad taught me when I was a little girl. Send help to my teachers. They’re still alive, but they’re shot.”

After the shooting ended, investigators described chaotic scenes in which bodies were taken away in ambulances and injured students were loaded onto buses.

“Some families received false information suggesting that their family members had survived when they had not,” the Justice Department report said. “Others were informed of the deaths of their family members by personnel who were not trained to deliver such news.”

“The level of misinformation, misguided and misleading narratives, leaks and lack of communication about the events of May 24 is unprecedented and is having a far-reaching, negative impact on the mental health and recovery of family members and other victims, as well as the entire Uvalde community,” the report said.

The purpose of the Justice Department’s investigation was not a criminal investigation, but rather a comprehensive review of the law enforcement response at Robb Elementary School. This Critical Incident Review made many recommendations in its report, including: officers should be trained in one-, two-, three-, and four-person group school shooting courses; responders “must be prepared to approach the threat and breach or enter a room using only the means they have with them, which is often a standard issue weapon”; information should be immediately shared with all law enforcement agencies; when a school shooter has access to victims, they “should never be treated… as barricaded individuals”; and each victim’s family should be assigned an advocate to work with them consistently.

Following the Justice Department’s report, the city of Uvalde immediately announced that it would provide training, equipment and personnel for its police force.

In March, an independent investigative report commissioned by the city of Uvalde found that none of the first five Uvalde Police officers who responded to the shooting violated policy or engaged in serious misconduct.

However, the report found numerous failures in the police response, including poor communication, missing records and the failure to appoint a clear leader.

The report recommended disbanding the Uvalde SWAT team and recommending that Uvalde officers join a regional SWAT team until they gained more experience.

Weeks after the City Council’s report was released, new Uvalde Police Chief Homer Delgado unveiled a plan to “restructure” the police department. Changes include: purchasing modern equipment, prioritizing and expanding community outreach, and dedicating time and money to new training. Delgado said he will also conduct department-wide reviews of past actions, including one-on-one meetings with each Uvalde police officer.

Gloria Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter Jackie was killed, said she was not convinced any policy changes would make a difference, pointing out that the first officers to respond to the shooting were still employed by the police force.

Veronica Mata and Gloria Cazares attended a city council meeting on April 23 and asked Uvalde Acting Mayor Everardo Zamora to take action against the Uvalde Police officers who were on duty that day.

“You are not in our shoes,” Veronica Mata told Zamora. “So if you sit here and say you understand and you try to do something, you don’t. You don’t. How can you sit here and watch us – day after day – and do nothing? Nothing to help us. Our children sat there for 77 minutes – and you did nothing and you continue to do nothing.”

Based on what the Cazareses were told about their daughter’s injuries and the extent of her blood loss, they believe Jackie would have survived if police had not waited 77 minutes before arresting the shooter.

“I want there to be consequences for the officers that were in the hallway, the officers that were right in the hallway,” Cazares told ABC News. “I want them to lose their jobs.”

According to an independent investigative report commissioned by the city, Zamora said Uvalde’s police policies were outdated and officers did not have adequate training. The interim mayor promised there would be new training and new equipment.

This week, 19 families reached an agreement with the city of Uvalde. The city will pay out a total of $2 million from their insurance premiums.

As part of the settlement, the families said they have been involved in efforts to improve the Uvalde Police Department. The settlement also dictates how the city will support the community as residents recover, including establishing a committee to design a permanent memorial funded by the city.

The families also announced lawsuits this week against 92 Texas Department of Public Safety officials. The lawsuit names the Uvalde School District and several of its employees as defendants, including the school district’s then-principal and then-police chief.

The families also plan to sue the federal government, their lawyer said, noting that more than 150 federal agents were at the school.

“We’re fighting for the things we believe are right and to remember our loved ones,” Cazares said. “Not a day goes by that we don’t remember them or what happened. And I just don’t want the world to forget that.”