Texas school shooting: Uvalde mayor says ‘city will evaluate release’ of records after investigation

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said Tuesday that the city will evaluate releasing records related to the Robb Elementary School shooting after the investigation is complete, even as pressure grows for officials to release more information about the tragedy and law enforcement’s response to it. 

“The City of Uvalde and its Police Department strive for transparency every day. The Uvalde County District Attorney has requested the city to not release any City records related to the Robb Elementary School investigation. The District Attorney told us the material is still being reviewed and her investigation is ongoing,” Mayor McLaughlin said in a statement on Tuesday. 

“When all investigations and reviews are complete, the city will evaluate release of City records,” he added. “I want answers and our families deserve answers, and we trust the answers will come.”

Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee said she will not be holding a news conference or releasing anything to the press until after the Texas Rangers and the FBI finish their investigation, which could take several months. 

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“I do not anticipate receiving the complete investigation for at least 6 months, at the earliest,” Busbee told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. 

The official account of law enforcement response’s to the tragedy has been marred by contradictions and inaccurate statements that authorities later have had to walk back. 

Last week, a law firm representing the City of Uvalde sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, requesting that his office rule on whether records like body camera footage should be exempt from being released. 

The law firm cited one legal area, which has been referred to by officials as the “dead suspect loophole,” and allows law enforcement to withhold information about cases that end without a conviction. 

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Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. 

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan said earlier this month that he wants to see the legislature end the loophole next year. 

 

“The statute was originally intended to protect the wrongfully accused, but it hasn’t really worked that way in practice,” Phelan tweeted on June 1. 

“Families of those who die in custody never get closure or access to details of their loved one’s death because of this loophole. This is an area in dire need of reform. Details of in-custody deaths shouldn’t be kept secret, and neither should the details [regarding] Uvalde.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.