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Mayor lambasts DPS, others

Julye Keeble 
Staff Writer

Visibly frustrated, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. said on Tuesday that Texas Department of Public Safety has not briefed local authorities on ongoing investigations into the May 24 Robb Elementary School shooting, and he feels that DPS director Col. Steven McCraw is manipulating information.

Asked what he felt McCraw’s agenda might be, McLaughlin replied, “That’s what I’d like to know. … He was supposed to come down and set the record straight.”

Instead, McLaughlin alleged, the misinformation, corrections and leaked information from unnamed sources has served to cast aspersions on local law enforcement and first responders while helping conceal any role involving state agents, such as DPS troopers.

He added that if McCraw and his agency are following a political agenda, “they’ll be tarred and feathered and run out of state.”

Though he issued a statement Tuesday afternoon saying he would not be commenting on the investigation, after the city council meeting where many community members and family members of victims spoke, McLaughlin shared that he was pushing for more information.

He said district attorney Christina Mitchell requested the city and county not release any information as it might hinder investigation, but he was tired of being in the dark.

Stating that four agencies, the FBI, DPS, state legislature and the 38th Judicial District Attorney’s Office had access to the surveillance footage, McLaughlin decried ongoing leaks of body cam footage, adding that he and other officials did not have access to Uvalde Police Department footage.

He said he felt the families of victims deserved a full picture of what happened.

McLaughlin also saidVictor Escalon, DPS regional director over South Texas, was the one who briefed Gov. Greg Abbott before a press conference where he praised law enforcement for their response during the shooting. After more information came out about the approximately 77-minute delay in confronting the shooter in the classroom where he had holed up, Abbott said he was livid and felt misled.

McLaughlin also decried the June 21 hearing in Austin, where McCraw and others testified before a special Texas Senate committee in open meetings, calling it a farce, and referring to it as the “Bozo the Clown show.”

He said he felt it was misleading to continue to offer bits and pieces, stating, “They still don’t have the facts yet, they still don’t have the truth.”

Asked what his next move is to get answers, after his numerous calls to various agencies have apparently failed to produce results, McLaughlin said, “Maybe the city of Uvalde sues the DPS, city of Uvalde sues the district attorney, for information, to get answers.”

The press conference came after the city council meeting, held at 6 p.m. at the Willie De Leon Civic Center.