UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A legislative committee investigating the fatal shooting at a Texas elementary school last month is expected to hear more testimony from law enforcement officers on Monday.
State Rep. Dustin Burrows, who chairs the committee investigating the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, said they will hear more testimony from the Uvalde Police Department, in addition to talking with another school district police officer and a member of the Department of Public Safety.
“We want to at least commend all law enforcement agencies for their cooperation and providing the witnesses we requested,” said Burrows, a Republican from Lubbock.
After Burrows’ opening statements at the committee hearing in Uvalde, the committee went into executive session, preventing the public from hearing testimony.
Last Thursday, Burrows expressed impatience with the Uvalde Police Department, saying it was unclear whether he would voluntarily testify before the panel. But he said Friday that Uvalde police officials had agreed to speak with the committee.
Burrows said testimony will continue Tuesday in Austin. He said he hoped to provide information on when at least a preliminary report would be made public.
An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at the school on May 24. Questions about why police did not confront and kill the shooter for more than an hour, even as anguished parents outside the school urged officers to enter and panicked children called 911 from inside.
Law enforcement officials have provided little or conflicting information since the shooting, sometimes retracting statements hours after making them. Officials declined to provide details, citing an ongoing investigation.
Some worry that Texas officials could use a legal loophole to prevent records from being released — even to victims’ families — once the case is closed. The exception in the law protects information from disclosure of crimes for which no one has been convicted. The Texas attorney general’s office has decided that it applies when a suspect is dead.
Authorities have also not released documents sought under public information laws to the media, including The Associated Press, often citing broad exemptions and the ongoing investigation. He raised concerns about whether those records will be released, even to the families of the victims.
Others interviewed behind closed doors by the committee include school staff.
Burrows has defended the committee by interviewing witnesses privately and not disclosing their findings so far, saying its members want an accurate record before releasing a report.
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Find more AP coverage of the Uvalde school shooting: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting
The Associated Press
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