by Michael Robinson | Uvalde Hesperian

 The national media returned to Uvalde in numbers reminiscent of the days immediately following the May 24th, 2022 Robb School tragedy to cover the U.S. Department of Justice release of its Critical Incident Report on the law enforcement agencies response as well official communications and reports of the event.

  Prior to the Official DOJ Press Conference, Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez held a press conference on the Uvalde Downtown Plaza at 10 AM.

  Gutierrez took the opportunity to blast the Texas DPS actions at Robb Elementary School as well as level criticism against Texas DPS Chief Steve McCraw.

  An official press conference was held inside the Weber Auditorium at the Herby Ham Activity Center at 11 AM on Thursday morning. The press conference was originally scheduled for 1:30 PM but officials changed the time to just an hour or two before 11 AM. Prior to the DOJ press conference where U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General  Secretary Merrick Garland spoke to a nearly full room of mostly reporters and also some citizens who attended the event.  Following Garland’s remarks,  Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta addressed the press from the official podium. Gupta was followed by Director Hugh T. Clements, Jr. of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) who also spoke.

  The Uvalde Hesperian did not receive official word about the press conference time or location until an hour before the start time which originally was scheduled for 1:30 PM  A source informed the Uvalde Hesperian about 8:30 AM Friday morning a large number of media was seen gathered outside the Herby Ham Activity Center. When Hesperian called and spoke to the Center Director Amy Coleman and asked what was happening, she said, “I cannot tell you.”

  According to a Facebook comment by Uvalde City Councilman Chip King, the DOJ press conference was not open to the public. However, inside the Weber Auditorium, there were seats available for the public behind the seats reserved for the press.

  In his opening remarks, Garland said, “Last night, I met with some of the survivors and the loved ones of the victims of the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. I came here to tell them that the United States Department of Justice has finished its Critical Incident Review.

  In undertaking this review at the request of the then-mayor, the Justice Department committed to using our expertise and independence to assess the law enforcement response to the shooting, and to provide guidance moving forward.

  As I told families and survivors last night, the Department’s review concluded that a series of major failures — failures in leadership, in tactics, in communication, and in training and preparedness — were made by law enforcement leaders and other officials responding to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary.”

See official transcript of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s speech here.

  He continued saying ” And I told the families gathered last night what I hope is clear among the hundreds of pages and thousands of details in this report: their loved ones deserved better.

  The law enforcement response at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 — and in the hours and days after — was a failure that should not have happened.”

  Following the official DOJ Press Conference, another impromptu press conference occurred outside of the Herby Ham Activity Center under the covered driveway outside of the main entrance where several Robb victims family members spoke to the press expressing their anger and frustration about the failures of law enforcement officials on May 24th, 2024.