The Justice Department pointed to a series of “cascading failures” in the response to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 children and two teachers. Hundreds of law enforcement officers stood by as the massacre unfolded for 77 minutes. As he revealed the findings of his agency’s investigation, Attorney General Merrick Garland said “lives would have been saved” had officials followed standard protocol.
Families of the victims spoke after the release of the 600-page report. This is Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who lost her 10-year-old daughter Lexi.
Kimberly Mata-Rubio: “I hope that the failures end today and the local officials do what wasn’t done that day, do right by the victims and survivors of Robb Elementary — terminations, criminal prosecutions — and our state and federal government enact sensible gun laws, because Robb Elementary began the day an 18-year-old was allowed to purchase an AR-15.”
Along with other grieving family members, Kimberly Mata-Rubio founded the gun control advocacy group Lives Robbed. We’ll have more on Uvalde after headlines.