Lawmaker asks FBI to investigate police response to Uvalde massacre, including apparent failure to confront shooter

• A Texas Democrat is urging the FBI to investigate the police response to the Uvalde school shooting.
• Rep. Joaquin Castro wants the bureau to provide a "complete and comprehensive account."

A US congressman is urging the FBI to investigate the police handling of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in particular the apparent failure to confront the gunman while he was allegedly barricaded in a classroom.

In a letter addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from San Antonio, asked the bureau to provide a "complete and comprehensive account" of the May 24 killing of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, including a "timeline of events and the law enforcement response."

Castro highlighted the conflicting accounts of the police response, including the claim — retracted on Thursday — that an officer at the school "exchanged fire" with the suspected gunman before he entered the building.

—Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) May 26, 2022

At a press conference earlier on Thursday, Victor Escalon of the Texas Department of Public Safety said that claim was indeed "not accurate," and that the shooter entered the building "unobstructed."

Castro also highlighted the fact that police have failed to explain why they waited to intervene while the gunman was in the school, with a 90-minute period still not fully accounted for.

"Onlookers allege that parents unsuccessfully urged law enforcement to enter the building during this time and confront the shooter," Castro wrote. The shooter was reportedly killed by a Border Patrol agent, not a local police officer, whose tactical unit had responded to the shooting.

In a statement to Insider, an FBI spokesperson said the bureau "received the letter," but "we don't have any additional comment."

During a briefing on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration wouldn't be looking into the response.

"I know that right now, authorities are working to piece together more details of what happened in Uvalde, so we won't prejudge the result from here at this time," she told reporters. "It is always a good idea to look back and try to find any lessons we can learn, especially from tragedies like this, so that we can prevent them moving forward, including the law enforcement response."

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