Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday that the state will be taking several new precautions in response to the Uvalde school shooting, including adding dozens of additional officers to the Uvalde school district patrol.
Abbott’s statement explained that the Texas Department of Public Safety “will be providing more than 30 law enforcement officers to campuses throughout the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) for the new school year.”
“The beginning of a new school year should be an exciting time for students and teachers, and the State of Texas is working to provide that for the Uvalde community,” Abbott said. “As a new school year begins, we must ensure students, parents, and all dedicated school personnel can look forward to new opportunities to learn and grow. Texas will keep working to provide all available support and resources to the Uvalde community as they continue to heal.”
The press release outlined other steps that have been taken to stem school shootings in the future, including $5 million to establish a “long-term Family Resiliency Center” to provide mental health services in Uvalde, and $1.25 million for trauma counseling and community outreach in the Uvalde school district.
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A committee of Texas state lawmakers investigating the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde in late May that left 19 students and 2 teachers dead released a 77-page report in July detailing “systemic failures” and “poor decision making” from those involved.
The investigation criticized the inaction of state and federal law enforcement, who made up the majority of responding officers. The report states that there were 91 state police officers, 149 from US Border Patrol, 25 Uvalde city police officers, 16 sheriff’s deputies and 5 officers from the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police who responded to the crime.
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The committee said law enforcement failed to quickly confront the suspect, having retreated to safety after taking gunfire and waited for backup.
“They failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety,” the report said.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.