What you need to know about Texas’ school safety policies
Texas lawmakers have mandated armed guards at every public school, panic buttons in classrooms and more staff training. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School students line up to enter their next class Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Feds arrest five men accused of smuggling illegally purchased guns to cartels in Mexico
The men were charged with two criminal offenses, including straw purchasing of firearms, created by the 2022 bipartisan gun safety bill authored by Sen. John Cornyn. Full Story
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![A Springfield Saint Victor AR-15 rifle is displayed during the National Rifle Association annual convention in Houston on May 27, 2022.]()
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Uvalde police chief resigns after controversial report cleared officers who responded to school shooting
Daniel Rodriguez was out of town during the 2022 massacre. He told the local newspaper he was “not forced, asked or pressured” to resign. Full Story
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![Uvalde Special City Council meeting at City Hall on June 7, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
“The families deserve more”: Uvalde city report clears local officers of wrongdoing
Families were infuriated by praise for local law enforcement in a report on the Robb Elementary School shooting released Thursday by a private investigator. Full Story
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![A mural in memory of Makenna Lee Elrod, one of the 21 Robb Elementary school shooting victims in Uvalde on Oct. 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Supreme Court divided over gun rights challenge to Trump bump stock ban
Austin gun store owner Michael Cargill challenged the ban on the devices used in major mass killings after he was forced to surrender two bump stocks. Full Story
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![Assault-style weapons are laid on a table at a gun show in San Marcos on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Active shooter training: State-specific requirements for schools and law enforcement
No states mandate annual active shooter training for police officers, according to an analysis by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE. In comparison, at least 37 states require such training in schools, typically on a yearly basis. Full Story
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![A man writes a message on a cross at a makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, on May 21, 2018.]()
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Despite grand jury investigation, officers may not face charges in Uvalde shooting response
Local prosecutor Christina Mitchell last month convened a grand jury to investigate police officers’ delay in confronting the gunman at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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![Texas State Trooper vehicles are stationed outside the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on June 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ new school safety law mostly addresses the Justice Department’s advice. But funding fixes is still an issue.
Lawmakers passed House Bill 3 last year to address some of the issues that led to the botched police response during the Uvalde school shooting. Full Story
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![Memorial crosses outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. The now-closed school was the site of the May 2022 mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Grand jury called to investigate flawed police response to Uvalde shooting
Twelve jurors selected Friday will review law enforcement’s delayed response during Texas’ deadliest school shooting and recommend possible criminal charges. Full Story
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![District Attorney for the 38th Judicial District of Texas (Uvalde & Real Counties) Christina Mitchell Busbee at a press conference at the Uvalde High School on May 27, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Twenty months after deadly Uvalde school shooting, multiple investigations have yet to be released
The U.S. Department of Justice just released its investigation into law enforcement’s response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School. But at least three other investigations have not yet been released to the public. Full Story
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![Police hold a press conference on Thursday, May 26, 2022 in Uvalde, TX. Twenty one people were killed after a gunman after a high school student opened fire inside Robb Elementary School on Tuesday where two teachers and 19 students were killed. (Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
“Cascading failures”: Justice Department blasts law enforcement’s botched response to Uvalde school shooting
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that had responding officers followed general procedures, some victims would have survived. Full Story
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![Students flee and authorities help others evacuate after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022.]()
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Reports about police actions in U.S. mass shootings lack standardization and often leave unanswered questions
A lack of national standards leads to wide variability in after-action examinations of law enforcement’s response, ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and FRONTLINE found. Full Story
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![After-action reports can vary widely in what they examine and what information they release because there is no national standard for how they should be conducted.]()
Credit: Compilation image by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica -
Texas superintendents say lack of school safety funding may lead to budget cuts
The fourth special legislative session this year ended without any increased funding for school safety — even though public schools have complained for months they don’t have enough money to meet new safety mandates approved this year. Full Story
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![An Austin Independent School District police vehicle sits outside of McCallum High School in Austin, on Dec. 28, 2012.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
“Someone tell me what to do”
Across the country, states require more training to prepare students and teachers for mass shootings than for those expected to protect them. The differences were clear in Uvalde, where children and officers waited on opposite sides of the door. Full Story
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![Collage by ProPublica. Body camera stills obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Collage by ProPublica. Body camera stills obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune -
New Uvalde school shooting documentary and investigation reveal details of law enforcement’s flawed response
The “Inside the Uvalde Response” film and related reporting by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and FRONTLINE analyze one of the most criticized mass shooting responses in recent history and show real-time insight into officers’ thoughts and actions. Full Story
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![A Texas Highway Patrol trooper behind Robb Elementary School in Uvalde May 25, 2022, one day after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.]()
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Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter died in the Uvalde school shooting, loses bid to become mayor
Mata-Rubio’s daughter Lexi was among 19 children killed in the massacre at Robb Elementary last year. In a special election, Mata-Rubio lost to Cody Smith, who previously held the position. Full Story
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![Kimberly Mata-Rubio, mother of Alexandria Rubio, one of the children killed in the 2022 Uvalede mass shooting, speaks with Tribune reporter Uriel Garcia a Texas Tribune event held at Southwest Texas Junior College on May 20th, 2023 in Uvalde. Mata-Rubio is running for mayor of Uvalde.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar leads push to keep guns from those convicted of hate crimes
The El Paso Democrat gathered fellow lawmakers who have had hate-motivated mass shootings in their districts to back the bill. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 12, 2023, on protecting gender-affirming and reproductive health care.]()
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Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin resigns to run for Texas House
McLaughlin, who led the small South Texas community through the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, was first elected in 2014. Full Story
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![Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. speaks at a Special City Council meeting at City Hall on June 7, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
New school safety laws seek to add armed guards, chaplains and mental health training. Here’s what you need to know.
Experts say many of the changes will bolster school safety but some requirements may be challenging for public schools to implement by the upcoming school year with limited funding and staffing constraints. Full Story
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![Austin Police Department officer Cory Ehrler monitors the entrance to Ridgetop Elementary School in Austin, Texas shortly after classes start on the Monday following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. As the 83rd Legislature approaches, Texas lawmakers are considering making firearms more available to teachers and other school personnel. The Texas Tribune (Smith: School Security). Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa/The Texas Tribune -
Gunman in 2019 El Paso mass shooting receives 90 life sentences
Patrick Crusius pleaded guilty and was sentenced Friday in federal court. He still faces state charges, and the local district attorney says he intends to seek the death penalty. Full Story
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![From left: Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Hanna, defendant Patrick Crusius, defense attorney Joe Spencer, and U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, during the sentencing hearing of David Crusius in El Paso, on July 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Nacho Garcia Jr./Special to El Paso Times
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