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“At the request of Mayor Don McLaughlin, Uvaldi, the U.S. Department of Justice will conduct an incident critical review of law enforcement’s response to the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24,” Justice Department spokesman Anthony Cooley said in a statement.
The massacre, the deadliest shooting in America since the 2012 Sandy Hook incident, was followed by conflicting official accounts of how it happened. Postponing a police confrontation with the mass shooter exacerbated parents’ anger, with some saying a quick response could have saved the children’s lives.
“My expectation is that the law enforcement leaders who lead investigations … get to the bottom of every fact with absolute certainty,” the Republican governor said at a news conference in Yuvaldi.
Conley, a DOJ spokesperson, said the DOJ review aims to “provide an independent report on law enforcement actions and reactions that day, and identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooting events.”
“The review will be conducted with the department’s community police office,” he added. “As with previous Department of Justice reviews following mass shootings and other serious incidents, this evaluation will be fair, transparent, and independent. The Department of Justice will publish a report of its findings at the conclusion of the review.”
Meanwhile, Attorney General Merrick Garland, addressing the graduates at Harvard’s graduation ceremony on Sunday, spoke briefly about the massacre, saying: “As we gather today to celebrate this historic achievement in your life, we are also clinging to a tremendous amount of sadness due to yet another mass shooting at Another school in our country.”
“An unspeakable act of violence has devastated families and an entire community in Ovaldi, Texas. I know I speak for all of us whose hearts are broken,” Garland said.
This story was updated with additional details on Sunday.
Priscilla Alvarez, Eric Levinson, Virginia Langmaid, Shimon Prokopic, Nora News, Kevin Liptak, Arlette Sainz, and Devan Cole contributed to this report.
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