Texas Police Response Faces Review by Justice Department

The Justice Department announced Sunday that it will review the police response to the shooting Tuesday in Texas that killed 19 children and two teachers. Officers waited about 45 minutes in a hallway outside the Robb Elementary classroom while surviving students and teachers called 911; a state official said that was the wrong decision by police. A Justice Department statement said the review was requested by Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, NPR reports. A report will be published when the review is completed, the statement said.

"The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day," the Justice Department said, per the Hill, "and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events." Local officials have given conflicting versions of the response by law enforcement, and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he was misled about police actions. Reviews like this are not conducted often and usually are handled by outside groups or local law enforcement agencies, per the AP. A Justice Department promised that "this assessment will be fair, transparent, and independent." (More Uvalde mass shooting stories.)