The Uvalde Independent School District police force and Uvalde Police Department have halted their cooperation with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s investigation into the massacre at Robb Elementary School and the state’s review of the law enforcement response, several law enforcement sources tell ABC News.
A spokesperson for the Uvalde Independent School District and the Uvalde police chief did not immediately respond to requests for comment from ABC News.
According to multiple sources, the decision to stop cooperating occurred following the director of DPS, Col. Steven McCraw, held a news conference Friday and said the delayed police entry into the classroom was the “wrong decision” and contrary to protocol.
Peter Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief, has yet to respond to Texas Rangers.
A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety told ABC News “The Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde CISD Police have been cooperating with investigators. 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.”
Arredondo reportedly made the decision not to immediately confront the suspected shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, at Robb Elementary School during his shooting rampage last week. Police waited in a school hallway for nearly 50 minutes before breaching a classroom door.
McCraw stated that Arredondo thought the incident had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject and that they had time to wait for tactical equipment and kets to unlock the classroom’s door.
The police response and the overwhelming amount of inaccurate information by law enforcement in the days following the mass shooting has brought about criticism from parents of the victims as well as officials who had praised police immediately afterward.
On Saturday, Lt. Gov. Patrick told Fox News that law enforcement’s choice not to immediately confront the shooter was a “bad decision, and that decision cost lives.”
“No one mentioned the fact that there was this 45-minute-to-an-hour hold by the chief of the police of the school district while there were still shots being fired,” Patrick said.
“Local law enforcement has not made any public comments about the specifics of the investigation into the incident or misled anyone,” McLaughlin said in an emailed statement to Fox News Digital on Monday.
“Statements by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick that he was ‘not told the truth’ are not true. All statements and comments made to do about the ongoing investigation are being handled by DPS/Texas Rangers.”
