DPS on internal investigation of Uvalde response: 'Members are currently reviewing and examining the actions of those who responded to Robb'

Following the release of the Texas House of Representatives’ extensive report on the Robb Elementary School massacre on Sunday, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced on Monday that it’ll internally review the response of its officers, Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported.

The approximately 80-page House investigative committee report revealed that the 376 law enforcement officers who were summoned to Robb moments after an 18-year-old gunman opened fire on campus was more than the number of soldiers who defended the Alamo, yet an absence of clear leadership and miscommunication bungled the officers’ response.

KXAN reported that DPS accounted for 91 of the 376 officers.

According to the station, DPS tabbed its deputy director of law enforcement services to head the intra-agency investigation.

“Members are currently reviewing and examining the actions of every DPS trooper, officer, agent and ranger that responded to Robb Elementary to determine if any violations of policy, law or doctrine occurred and where the department can make necessary improvements for future mass casualty responses,” DPS said in a statement that was distributed to the media.

Nineteen students and two teachers lost their lives in the May 24 incident.

Former Texas Supreme Court justice Eva Guzman, who was part of the three-person House committee that authored the report, said that officers who failed to properly respond are in the wrong line of work, Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported citing Texas Tribune.

Austin Journal reported that the victims’ families were the first to view the report but found little to no solace in the findings. Each family also received copies of the text, which was dedicated to their deceased loved ones.

The Office of the Texas Governor on Monday issued a statement in which Gov. Greg Abbott shared his thoughts on the report.

“I want to thank Speaker [Dade] Phelan and the Texas House for their investigation and for sharing a detailed account directly with the victims’ families and the Uvalde community,” Abbott said in the statement. “The findings in their investigative report are beyond disturbing and raise serious concerns about the response that day.”

The governor added that “critical changes” must be made in light of what was laid out in the document.