19 January 2024
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – After the release of the Justice Department’s report on the “cascading failures” of law enforcement during the shooting at Robb Elementary, families of the victims are imploring criminal charges to be brought to those who were in charge.
“Do right by the victims and survivors: terminations, criminal prosecutions. And our state and federal government enact sensible gun laws,” said Kimberly Rubio, mother of Lexi, a victim. “Robb Elementary began the day an 18-year-old was allowed to purchase an AR-15.”
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed inside two fourth-grade classrooms, while highly armed police officers waited in the hallways for more than hour before going inside to confront the gunman.
“Because the DOJ stamp is on there, maybe y’all will start taking us seriously now instead of telling us to move on, telling us to sweep it under the rug and not doing a damn thing about it,” Brett Cross said. Cross’ 10-year-old nephew, Uziyah Garcia, was killed in the attack.
The Department of Justice report faults state and local officials with undercutting the public’s trust in law enforcement by repeatedly releasing false and misleading information about the police response. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott initially praised the officers’ courage “running toward gunfire.”
“A failure that should not have happened,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said of the police response.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.