damning report on the police response at robb elementary. right now, i will hand things over to reverend al sharpton for politicsnation. over to reverend a>> good evening and welcome to politicsnation. tonight's lead, systemic failure. tonight we are following breaking news that texas house investigative committee a few hours ago releasing its preliminary report on the horrific shooting that claimed the lives of two teachers and 19 children at robb elementary school in uvalde texas. two months ago. the committees leaders are slated to beginning -- after meeting with victims families today to share the report's findings. of course, we will take you live to the press conference once it begins. but the report itself of which

nbc has obtained a copy has already condemned systemic failures and egregious poor decision making on the part of nearly 400 local state and federal law enforcement officers on the scene. at robb elementary on may 4th. let's go to nbc news correspondent, priscilla thompson. priscilla, you've been in uvalde speaking with parents and anticipating where we may hear from this report that they just released. what are some of the big takeaway so far? one of the things that you already mentioned, the sheer amount of the police presence that was here on that day. we're talking about hundreds of officers from nearly two dozen agencies, from federal, state and local law enforcement. the majority of them where texas department of public

safety and border patrol. we are also learning about what happened in regards to the incident command. there was a lot of talk over the past several weeks over the school police chief, pete arredondo, being the incident commander. what is clear in this report is that that was not effectively communicated. there was not a clear chain of command, and in fact, some people who were on the outside of the building did get information that was not correct. for example, they got information that the police chief was in the classroom negotiating with that shooter, and that is why some officers did not act more assertively in taking control of the scene and of the situation. we are also learning more about the safety measures that were in place at that school. including the fact that room 111, one of the classrooms involved in this tragedy, had a faulty lock. many people knew that the lock

was not working properly. it took a lot of extra effort to keep that door locked. still, there was never a work order put in to address that issue in the weeks leading up to this incident. so the report says that there was just a lot of people who weren't paying attention, weren't honoring a lot of the safety protocols that were on paper that were supposed to be in place. another striking piece of information that we are getting from this report is that one of those classrooms was the former fourth grade classroom of the shooter. we are learning that he had expressed violent tendencies in the weeks and months leading up to this incident, and had even spoken a few weeks prior about about experience that he had in the fourth grade when speaking with someone else. yet, he was able to buy those guns and he had been saying leading up to the incident that he was planning something big. so lots of new details coming out as a result of this report.

and certainly raising questions about the mistakes that were made. if any of those things hadn't happened, if lives may have perhaps been saved. >> priscilla thompson, please stand by. joining me now is mark claxton, a retired and my deep p -- good evening, mark. give us your initial thoughts after reading the early report that was just released. >> rev, the report is disturbing of course. there is some question of the operational or value of the report. there is an overstatement of a lot of unknown information. it's an amplification of even more obvious information. unfortunately it is playing into this death by 1 million paper cuts. the slow and selective drip drip of information is

torturing to these families that have been impacted by this level of mass casualty. so the report itself if the idea behind the report is to provide some information that can serve as preventative material, it fails miserably. i hope that we don't cause more damage by some of the information within the report to those families who are hurting. >> my initial review of it, it just came out, that's my concern. but the report indicates that the committee of didn't find any billions among the various law enforcement groups that responded to the shooting. but rather a systemic failure. if we aren't holding any individuals responsible for what went wrong, how do we have accountability for the? tragedy in order to make sure the same mistakes don't happen again in the future.

>> they are hiding behind this systemic failure. listen, we can sum the report up. law enforcement failed miserably. it quite probably cost lives of several of the individuals, these children and the teachers that were killed there in uvalde. the law enforcement was fully trained, equipped and still remained paralyzed at the scene because they lacked affective leadership, without a doubt, they lacked courage and good old-fashioned common sense. also, what is important is an attempt to further lionized law enforcement, the police community, and to -- the profession. politicians reflexive leap misled, covered up and some would say lied about some important information in regards to what happened there in uvalde. it really is a failure. >> absolutely. and to have no villains, well, it disturbs me at best.

but back to priscilla thompson in uvalde. what's next in this case? now that the texas house committee report has been released, what is likely to be the fallout of the findings? can we expect to hear about additional investigations? >> yes. we hope that when this press release gets underway in just a little while we can learn more about what comes next for those committee members. we also expect the mayor to speak in just a little while. the district attorney here has also signaled before this report was released that there could be criminal charges filed as a result of what was found in this investigation. and for the past several weeks, this committee has been interviewing dozens of witnesses and law enforcement, even visiting the site of the shooting, rob elementary school, to get a feel and better understand what's happened here and so there is a ton of evidence -- >> when you say potential criminal charges, to we have

any idea who that could be? or wet line of work that might cover? what possible people could be exposed on criminal charges? because the report doesn't identify any villains, so that's why i'm pushing on it. >> right, so that is a great question. the attorney has not said specifically who might be criminally charged. speaking to -- they certainly hoped to [inaudible] for, if it looks like -- especially one parent there were students and teachers who died in that classroom while police officers and that hallway for a seven minutes. they say there needs to be accountability for that. it is either negligence or whatever exactly that could mean. >> 77 minutes! -- according to the report,

they're not identifying anyone. the report also finds law enforcement officers did not adhere to their own active shooter training. and failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety. we see these same types of drills in training all over the country, do you think they are giving us a false sense of security here? >> well, just based on what happened in uvalde, it appears that there is this false sense of security and this delusion as that is being perpetrated by far too many law enforcement agencies. what is especially disturbing, you have multiple different agencies and jurisdictions respond. it is troubling that each jurisdiction and agency failed the same miserable way. and so, you have really a law enforcement response that is

diluted. these individuals have been properly trained in the current vote of response to active shooters. trained day in and day out. drilled into their heads. what it also requires is some leadership and courage. it is something that the law enforcement community has to have in order to effectively save lives. >> now, marq claxton, the report also wants out the schools security was inadequate. fencing was inaccurate, and the doors were routinely left unlocked or propped open. is it realistic to expect schools to be highly secured facilities, marq? >> it is realistic that schools will report any disk unity deficiencies within a. in this day and age, across this nation, school districts are paying special care and attention to security measures which includes the basics, locking doors and the door's ability to lock. perhaps video equipment, cameras throughout the campus

themselves. we can't just have these measures in place and then not follow up and check on them to make sure that everything is operating. it is like a dog and pony show until everything hits the fan, and then things are tragically wrong. it will be very unfortunate in the circumstances, and addition to the law enforcement failure. >> it would seem that the families wanted some accountability, and i think this report was very strong on the systemic change, -- i mean, the systemic failure which is clear. but short on, and therefore who is responsible and what is going to be the accountability that american people can see that this can't happen again? you have law enforcement from several agencies there standing around, 77 minutes? unbelievable. okay, marq, standby we're

taking a break. then we will go live to uvalde, texas. the committee who issued a report earlier today met with uvalde parents and is now holding a press conference. we'll be right back. g a press conference we'll be right back. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ this is the moment. for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo — fda approved. 100% steroid free. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and cibinqo helps provide clearer skin and less itch.

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we are back in just a moment we will go back to uvalde, texas. the committee issued a report earlier meeting with you all the families and is about and not only hold a press conference on the report but let's bring in my political panel gds, lena shaw senior adviser for republican women of progress. michael hurting, part of hardaway wire. let me ask both of you, let me start with you reena. your reaction to the preliminary report that we heard that they're talking about systemic failure, but no villains, no one really being

held accountable. your reaction to the preliminary report? >> i would say this, rev. one thing i believe that has been missing from the conversation is how our police and law enforcement around the country have been forced to become militarized themselves. there's such a great lack of -- inequality from where i've seen as a parent. but i will say, assault weapons belong in the hands of everyday citizens. i don't think the founders of this country ever in vision to future where these weapons of military use would make their way into the hands of civilians. the very fact that these weapons are out there i think has scared law enforcement, because they have to deal in such a way that is demanding of them in the way that they are not trained for, and they are personally and mentally not ready for it. so we shouldn't be surprised at what we saw in uvalde, because

we do not have an assault weapons fans in this country. and we need one. >> michael, in your view of the preliminary report and also following rina's point, as much as i want to see hold someone accountable, even after this shooting, 19 children, we still could not get an assault weapons ban through the u.s. senate. we cannot even get a real discussion, and that to me is unbelievable in view of the american parents. >> it's shocking and horrifying in terms of what happened that day, but also the idea that this report comes out and no one is held accountable and no one apparently has done anything wrong. notwithstanding the fact in the days after this tragedy we were all lied to again and again by local law enforcement who allotted the performance of their deputies and instead of

telling us the truth, while people were being killed inside these classrooms, the deputies were in the hallway for over an hour and a half. i don't understand how such a horrific thing could happen and that no one is held responsible. i would also say to you that communities of color, for years, have complained about the ideas that law enforcement often does not tell the truth about what happens in situations, whether that is an officer involved shooting or anything else in the community. for years, black and brown people have said that the police have not been forthright, and i think this is yet another example of that. >> and people have said it. certainly i've been at the forefront of that. here we are and people are starting to say, wait a minute, maybe people were not exaggerating. we are going to continue to monitor the situation in uvalde and bring you the news conference when it begins. in the meantime, reena, tomorrow steve bannon's trial

is set to begin as he faces charges of contempt for failing to complying with a subpoena from the january 6th committee. which result and could result in up to two years in prison if convicted. meanwhile, the house panel is gearing up for its final hearing this thursday, which -- quote, supreme dereliction of duty, end of quote. during the 187 minutes of the capitol attack. last week, steve bannon had a sudden willingness to testify before the select committee had the doj moved forward with the bannon trial. is there any benefit of minutes testimony before the panel at this point, rina? >> i believe at this point would be great to hear from steve bannon. here is a very thing that we ought to be most concerned about. we have not heard the last of steve bannon, because none of the january 6th --

it's not just my pinion to be held fully accountable to the extent of the law in the united states. none of them have been punished in a way that would stop them from acting again. that is what concerns me as somebody who's been watching extremist on the rise for many years. you know this. this is not new for those of us who have been paying attention, but for folks who believe that american extremism is something new in the era of trump, you are dead wrong. which needs to happen is that these people are saving themselves, but again, in this moment where they are saving themselves, we need to be happening is that the department of justice needs to zoom right in and forget the political bit of this for a moment and say this is wrong. you try to overthrow a fair, free and just election? you try to overthrow the government? for that very reason, it doesn't matter if you are a president or a top advisor or connected to money or dark secrets in this money, you ought to pay the price for the why. i'm sitting here and horrified

that republicans are not willing to hold their own accountable. steve bannon will try to save themself and it will be another day where extremists continue to plot, to do something again that would be worse in the insurrection next time. we've got to have the pressure from our elected members of congress. every single one of them. i don't care what affiliation they are. they need to pressure the department of justice to act and put those january 6th platters in their place, which is to be punished. >> we are talking about the overthrowing of an election. we're talking about people that bannon that we're proudly touting this and all of a sudden it wants to do a last-minute, i will be heard. let's talk about president biden. he's back in the white house after his controversial trip to saudi arabia. with the looming problem of high prices at the gas pump, biden did not get explicit -- by the saudis to boost oil production. meanwhile, gasoline prices are

driving inflation above 40 year highs and threatening his approval ratings as voters are heading to the midterm. and you poll revealed that 70% say the economy is extremely important to have their vote this november. how can democrats speak to the economic crisis, but also inspire hope that things will get better? is there anything they can do in the coming months to change any minds? >> yes, i think democrats have to be better on the facts and lay those out for the american people, because the truth of the matter is that gas prices in america have fallen every single day for the past 32 days, which has saved american voters 100 and $40 million. i would say to you that the president did the right thing by going to the middle east and having that conversation about our interests surrounding gas prices, about our interest in the war in yemen and i would say to you that the president

showed tremendous leadership in making that decision, which was not easy in the midst of significant pushback back home. he went and had that conversation. he made the right decision, and i think that will bear out as a good thing for democrats in november and for the president in 2024. >> and the gas prices are going down, but we have to be concerned about other staples that people have had to shop and get. rina, senator ted cruz, i have to bring it up. he is now saying he believes the supreme was, quote, clearly wrong, unquote. when it decided in 2015 ruling that same sex marriage was illegal under the constitution. this follows judge clarence thomas is signaling his support last month for reconsidering gay marriage as constitutional. republicans have claimed, since roe versus wade was overturned, the democrats are exaggerating the threat polls by that ruling

to other americans currently who enjoy constitutional coverage by many other areas. but is it the far-right or the party trying to push the envelope, when you hear cruz say this and this is the fair and talking about. we are in states rights now, with the lgbtq, are they pushing the envelope that where ted cruz is making these kinds of statements? >> when you give them an inch they will take a mile. that's the name of the game, here. this is the playbook that they've been open about for so long. i would hope the good people of texas who don't believe what is under cruz beliefs -- enough is enough. we want you to stop legislating with their holy books. i'm a person of faith, i have no problem being faithful in my private life, but if i'm elected official tomorrow, i know with that means in this country. that means i need to respect the separation of church and state in this country and not impose my religious views on somebody else.

today's republican body, the majority of it does not believe in that anymore. we've heard congressman -- come out and say what's separation of church and state? again, we know the playbook. it's out in the open. here's what we have to do. we need to stop letting republicans take that lead the argument and say all this did, they overturned roe, is take it back to the states. it's not that big of a deal that making -- that everybody is making it out to be. turn it back on them and say, do you want women's health to be in danger in the year 2022? do you want women who go to an emergency room and have to have the government dictate with their doctor can do for them? that is not real freedom. let me say this to you, read, real quick. this is important. they're going to try to downplay the snow, they want to overturn same-sex marriage? they don't want to be legal anymore? they're going to say would about civil unions? that shouldn't be enough. no, throw it back on them -- >> but that was the argument they had before it became constitutional or it was

decided about the supreme court, and that argument did not fly then. if you're talking about church and state, you're seeing people cannot marry but they can check up? you are talking street robbing people of their privacy and their rights. michael, an armed man who reportedly threatened to kill representative -- was arrested outside her home last week on suspicion of committing a hate crime. police said the suspect was released days ago at the police were not able to adequately show he had made the alleged threat. the congresswoman reacted earlier today on the sunday show. let's take a listen. >> on the night of the incident, which just continued to escalate, showing up at my house with a gun and screaming about going back to india and threats against my life, this man wanted to intimidate me.

he wanted to threaten me. he wanted to hurt me. i think it is just important to understand that this violence has been unleashed. >> what do you make of the rising threat of violence over politics and what should be done about it, michael? >> it's deeply concerning that this particular incident happened in the aftermath of what we saw a few years ago with representative giffords. i would say to you that members of congress need better security in the era that we live in, which is the trump clown card that encourages racism and violence, and hatred, and all the sorts of things toward our elected officials. we cannot have that. members of congress need some sort of way to protect themselves in this era that we live in where honestly, there in the public eye, and they are under attack by trump and those who support him. that is deeply concerning. >> rina shah, and michael

hardaway, thanks for being with us. we have more of politics nations coming up, but first let's take a look at the other top stories of the day from my colleague richard louis. richard? >> breadth, a very good evening to you. russia has intensified military action in certain parts of ukraine. ted missile struck the city of mykolaiv overnight, says the joint coordination pro center of self-defense forces. officials have earned civilians to stop ignoring a red sirens after a series of deadly missile attacks by russian forces in recent days. the biden administration extended the covid-19 public health emergency for three months. the latest renewal comes as a highly contagious omicron virus variant is spreading across over the united states. that you -- the data shows more than half of the country is living in a high covid community area. an extremely heat is sweeping across europe. hundreds of people have died from the scorching heat in countries like spain and portugal. temperatures surpassed 100

degrees fahrenheit. heat wave also triggered wildfires in france and spain. more politics nation with reverend al sharpton right after this break. wit wit reverend but now, i can disrupt eczema with rinvoq. rinvoq is not a steroid, topical, or injection. it's one pill, once a day, that's effective without topical steroids. many taking rinvoq saw clear or almost-clear skin while some saw up to 100% clear skin. plus, they felt fast itch relief some as early as 1 week. that's rinvoq relief. after this break rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, after this break after this break serious infections and blood clots, some fatal, cancers including lymphoma and skin cancer, death, heart attack, stroke, and tears in the stomach or intestines occurred. people 50 and older with at least one heart disease risk factor have higher risks. don't take if allergic to rinvoq, as serious reactions can occur. tell your doctor if you are or may become pregnant. disrupt the itch and rash of eczema.

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new dove ultimate. welcome back to politicsnation. we are still awaiting a news conference in uvalde, texas on the findings of a texas house committee report on the deadly school shooting their back in may. let's get to nbc news correspondent, priscilla thompson. priscilla, what are you hearing about the possible actions from the mayor in the aftermath of this report? >> yeah, so we just got a statement from the mayor here and he says that the city is going to be releasing all the body cam footage from the uvalde police department. he is also announcing that they're going to be placing lieutenant mariano parkas, administrative leave, and this

was the acting chief of police for the city of uvalde police on the day of that incident. those are the two big things that he is announcing, and of course, that body cam footage is going to be a crucial new piece of evidence that hasn't been released to the public in its entirety, again, to better understanding when exactly went on here and what went wrong and hopefully should more light on all of that. the mayor also says that the city is going to be conducting an internal investigation, so investigations are going to be continuing here, even as this reporting has been released with the city investigating, and of course we also know that the fbi had announced plans several weeks ago to look into this incident as well. again, working to identify those failures and make changes so that something like this never happens again anywhere else. rev? >> priscilla thompson, please stand by. joining me now, congresswoman joyce beatty, democratic ohio

chair of the congressional black caucus. congresswoman, thank you for joining us tonight. i want to start with the texas house report on the uvalde shooting earlier today and condemning a law enforcement response across the board. certainly at the local and state level. the cbc chair, serving black communities have all too often had to deal with police tragedies where there is little or no accountability. we've dealt with it even in your home district together. when are your thoughts of this report's findings? >> looking and hearing what was just released with the breaking news, certainly i agree that it is an abject failure. it was riddled with things that went wrong, it 21 lives, 19 students and children and two teachers. when you hear and listen to all of the things that went wrong, we need more training, but i like the fact that people are

being suspended and held accountable. we have to make sure the police officers are not above the law. mistakes were made that should not have been made. unfortunately we lost lives but maybe this will send a call that it is not acceptable, whether it's incidents like this or whether as you mentioned in my district where innocent black men were killed at the gun of a police officer, a congressional black caucus has passed legislation and we have been out there and the fight and we are making the difference because we hope to hold people accountable and, yes even our police officers. >> let's get to some other important stories as we wait the news conference in uvalde texas. our nation's reckoning inflation is hurting black consumers disproportionately. compounding the economic damage done by the pandemic. that is from the new york federal reserve bank last

month. if these economic woes persist into the fall continuing to hurt black voters, are you worried about with that could mean for a democratic party that needs that black vote desperately in the midterm elections? why should blacks come out? how do you inspire blacks to come out if we are dealing with these high inflation rates, and we did not get other things through the senate? and all of us fought for, led by eu? >> let me say, yes, obviously we're concerned, because we know there are consequences of elections. we also know that a 9.1 inflation rate is not acceptable, but we are educating our communities. it's important for them to look and know that due to covid response due to russia's invasion, that those were things we could not control, but it was the congressional black caucus and the democrats

that make sure that there were dollars to the american relief plan through build back better that we put back into our communities. it was a congressional black caucus that spearheaded the bipartisan infrastructure deal. but here's the thing. we are now coming out and working on yet another voting rights -- are consequences of elections and the number one thing for us as a congressional black caucus and for our communities is bubbling. we have to make sure that people are ready to go, that they are registered, and that they understand that if we're going to make a difference, if we think it is bad now, if we now continue -- if we don't continue to fight, if we don't continue to vote there will be consequences. not only at the federal level, but at the state level. look at what's happening now, whether it's roe v. wade, whether it is the police shootings, it comes back to the state level and the judicial

crisis. we have a chance to pick up seats in the senate, but we must keep senator warnock and we can pick up a female in north carolina, and even maybe another member in ohio to the u.s. senate. >> congresswoman, the mayor of ohio has lifted the city's recent curfew this morning following more than two weeks of protests over the police shooting death of jalen walker. what does it say to you that this is still a response to police shootings? >> we still have a problem in america. i think that is why we pushed hard and we were able to pass, in the house and democrats, people have to understand, when people lose their lives, that should not be partisan. the american people should be chastising, republicans who won't stand up, who won't vote to save lives and we have done that. we are looking at the registry.

we've got the no-show call, the no knock warrant. we have to make sure that we do more with these gun laws, whether it's on the policing side, but what's also important is we have to make sure that everybody is voting for these gun lives, it will make a difference in some of the lies. we are putting money back into the community, reverend al. we put the most money in the history of the congress back in to make sure that we curb violence in our community. $250 million. it's more than we've ever had that was led by a member of the congressional black caucus -- >> i have to interrupt you. standby. we are going live to uvalde, texas. the committee issued a report earlier today and met with uvalde families and is now holding a press conference. let us listen. >> you can still ask your questions, just send an email to page and she will get it to

you and it will not be a reason why you cannot answer. would i would like to do today is start with this. if there is only one thing that i can tell you, it's there were multiple systemic failures. i would invite everybody to read the entire report. you cannot cherry-pick one sentence and use it to say everything without reading it all together and with context. but if we need a simple pre phrase to describe with the report says, again, i will tell you, multiple systemic failures. i want to first thank the mayor of uvalde for having hosted a meeting today with several of the families, and asking for us to come by and attend, and i thought that was the respectful thing to do. i thought it was respectful to at least let them hear from me

before we open this up to a broader public discussion. i look forward to the questions here at the press conference. one of the things that i've said in their or to the families is we want to show that -- we want to show them as much respect as possible. the entire time this committee has been together, we have wanted to show them the most respect possible, and we tried to do that. i asked them if there was something we have ridden not respectful to let us know what it is. i told them the most we could do to be respectful at this point is not just blame one person or one thing. and i hope that the report where people read all of it together, that they understand that we look and take a broad approach to what happened that day. my biggest fear, and i also share this with them at the meeting, is that we will look for simple solutions to these complex answers. and we will all look and say well, you know, that's the way it was in uvalde. it's different here. let me tell you, the people of

uvalde, before this, they felt it could not happen here. they felt that. that is the false sense of security i worry about. i think some of the state systems that we found here that failed at they are across the entire state and country. i do not want to say because of one thing or one person here it could not happen elsewhere. i think that is a disservice and a non respectful thing to do. this committee was created by speaker -- i so appreciate that he did this. he formed this committee just 44 days ago. i believe this committee has driven things to the forefront. i believe that because of this committee some of the records have already been changed. a lot of the record has been set straight. this committee is a fact finding committee. our job was essentially to figure out with the facts were, and report it. it is a bipartisan committee. the reason it is bipartisan is

because the problems are not republican problems. they are not democratic problems. they are all of our problems. i'm very proud the speaker made this a bipartisan committee. there are other committees in the texas house and texas senate that we look at this report. look at the facts that we found here, and discuss and debate the policy that needs to be changed to try to make texas children safer going forward in the future. i am a policy maker. my colleagues up here are policy makers and have strong opinions about changes to policy that need to be done. today is not the day that we are going to share with our strong feelings and convictions are about that. that was not the task of finding the facts. after some period of time, we will put our policy maker hats back on and share those opinions with the committee and others about what we think needs to change and which should be done, but right now we will let the report speak

for itself and focus on the facts that were found in there. the committee met with more than 35 witnesses. those were done in the executive session. that is the precedent of the house in the past and will likely be the president of the house going forward. being an executive session meeting, the people and witnesses who attended, who did not have the cameras on them and did not testify for the public at large to hear. we believe that that probably allowed us to get their testimony quicker, and also, they were more con did -- candid in conversational in allowing us to do our job more accurately. other committees in the state of texas have subpoena power. we will have the opportunity to subpoena those witnesses and ought to hear what they have to say for themselves. but that is the president of the house for investigative committee to do this at the executive session, which is what we did. in addition to 35 witnesses that we interviewed, there were 39 independent interviews that

our investigators did a phenomenal job to help help us. we reviewed crime scene photos, audio and video from the incident, 9-1-1 calls, all of that went into trying to get this report compiled in 44 days, so that we could deliver this here to uvalde and hopefully you will find this reflective of the facts that we will get to. let me tell you a little bit about the report. we talk about the uvalde consolidated independent school district. let me say this. with hindsight, we can say the robb elementary was not adequately prepare for the risk of a school shooter. the schools five foot fence was inadequate. despite a policy of locked doors, there was a regrettable culture of noncompliance. in fact, all three exterior doors to the building were unlocked that day, and multiple interior doors were not secured the day of the shooting. when i talked about the false sense of security, i do not believe that eovaldi

consolidated or rob elementary is the only school with these issues and it. other educators believe this is a wider problem that we need to continue to look at. we discussed the attacker. you will first notice, we did not use his name. what we wanted to release in the hallway video, to the members of the families and public, we were not going to show his image. he wanted that, and he did not deserve it. he did not deserve to be -- to have that recognition of his face or name shown, because that is what he wanted. also, there are cultures online who look and believe that when they see these videos, there is something to be inspired by. we did not want others to look at these videos and to watch and be inspired by them. we wanted to show the law enforcement's response. however, we did give you a more comprehensive look at the background of the attacker. we refer to him throughout that

report, because that is how he refers to by -- training. he fits the profile of many. he came from a broken home with literal or no interaction with his father. he struggled in school, both academically and socially. he struggled to fit in and eventually became isolated. he networked through his peers through social media and violent video games. it ultimately had a fixation on school shootings and even developed the nickname, school shooter. we also talk in this report about the failures of law enforcement. there is really two categories to think about when we talk about this. there is an early decision to treat this as an active shooter versus a barricaded subject situation. if you know in the training and

standards we set for officers, if you know there is active shooting, after killing going on or someone has died, the standard is you have to continue to do something to stop that killing or stop that dying. that, several officers in the hallway or in that building knew or should have known there was dying in that classroom, and they should have done more to act with urgency. try the door handles, try to go in through the windows, try to distract him. try to do something. to address the situation. in fairness, there were many officers at that scene who were either denied access to the building or told misinformation. some or even told false information. some were told that the police chief of the consolidated independence school district was actually inside the room actively negotiating with the shooter. such that they did not know

what was happening. they did not have the opportunity to do that. but that is not where the analysis stops. everyone who came on the scene talked about this being chaotic. the training suggests that chaos should not happen. inside the school, there should be a tactical commander, someone who is taking a lead on dealing with the action in the hallway. there should also be an overall commander. somebody who is an overall command, flowing information, making sure anybody knows what is going on. the fact that there was no overall commander outside the building where there should have been one should have been known by many. at a minimum, there was multiple opportunities, depending on the relative training and experience of law enforcement officers to at least ask more questions, or offered their guidance to try to remedy the chaotic situation and make sure there was affective overall command.

there was a lack of effective overall command that day. i'm going to recognize my colleagues for some brief statements, and then we will answer questions here today. representative moody. >> thank you, mister chairman. i'm joe moody, democrat from el paso. i am a former prosecutor. i worked on issues like criminal law and mental health for my entire legislative career. most importantly, i am a father of three. and sadly, i have dealt with mass shootings before. in just two weeks, it would be the third anniversary of the day a young man with a rifle who murdered 23 people in el paso. after that we all kept asking why. why did this happen to us? we are here today to provide some of those answers in uvalde, and while this information will never make up for the

unspeakable loss this community has endured, el pasoans know how important it is to know. i also know the report we have given points to something very complex. it is hard to hear that there were multiple systemic failures, because we want to tell ourselves that systems work. we want to tell ourselves that there is one person we can point our fingers act. we want to tell ourselves that this will not happen again. that is just not sure. what happened here is complicated. but there is also a call to action in this report, because systems are something that we can and must improve. i see the report as a baseline of information that we can all work from. so often he stays, politics starts with the answer and does not even care about the facts. here, we are starting with the facts, the most thorough,

reliable report that has been done on what happened at robb elementary. there is more to do, but this report is a shared platform for us to work on together. the shootings in uvalde and el paso have important differences. so do -- odessa and sutherland springs. and santa fe and on and on. but they also have important slimming laboratories that we can understand and address as a state. although today is not the day for that discussion, that is what this report can and must lead to. i made a promise to the people of el paso that i have not forgotten and i will never forget. to do everything in my power to make sure the legislature understands what happened and why. and to fight for the solutions

that we deserve. i make that same promise here today in uvalde. thank you, mister chair. >> thank you, representative moody. >> good afternoon, i'm eva desmond, i'm a former texas supreme court judge and the public member of this committee. for the past several weeks, we have traveled to uvalde and take testimony to hear firsthand what took place and in pursuit of the truth. we did so with the request of texas house speaker dave feline -- delivering answers to the families who lost their loved ones. and we seek to understand what happened that day. how could there be so many multiple systemic failures as our state and country mourn the tragic deaths of rob

elementary. our committee -- to discover and report the facts. as a former judge i spent much of my professional life ensuring that the facts i relied on to make decisions were accurate. i brought to this process that same determination. after all, accurate facts have to provide the backdrop for any policy changes that will come out of this. throughout the investigation -- the investigative process, our only agenda was to follow the facts and the evidence. as john adams famously said, whatever maybe our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of the facts and evidence. that is where we placed our focus. there, we found the truth about

what really happened at robb elementary that day. but we also found the reality of the breakdowns and procedures and protocols, and processes of the breakdowns of failures and judgment, and decision-making that occurred before and during the tragedy. that truth is heavy and hard. it lays bare human failures, and it makes us confront collapses in our systems. they were supposed to work. they were supposed to protect the innocent who now lie in their graves. today we stand before a community that is still gripped in grief. with this report, families were crushed by sorrow and pain.

who desperately needed and deserved answers. but no report can heal broken hearts. only god can do that. knowing the truth, we hope while equipped texas lawmakers and leaders with information and knowledge that will guide them in the sighting next steps, we hope the truth about this tragedy will also give this community the resolve to forge a path forward. i come here with humility and respect. and i am here for you, for the people of uvalde. >> then q. pursuant to the house rules before a question is asked, we will have to have a witness aberration -- you can email to the committee clerk. are we ready for questions at this time?

[inaudible] when you ask your question, could you tell us your name and would affiliate you represent? with that, we will start with the media with questions. >> mister chairman? >> could you state your name and affiliation? >> [inaudible] [inaudible] >> but i'm telling you is we have substantive committees that have occurred been formed. the governor formed those earlier on. the speaker of the house formed at the same time 44 days ago. it has been done. they have already been working on this.

we know ask information that we can report to the legislature. help them basically make some decisions about systemic failures. i think each community can look at the things we have laid out in this report. make some determinations on how to prevent that from happening. i will tell you, not as a legislator, not as a chairman of this committee, but as a father i have asked teachers in high schools, principles that my schools and others about some of the things that we learned to find out with the culture's and intend to continue to work on it. i think it takes everybody to continue to ask questions. next question? >> [inaudible]