Gary Paterson
The demolition of Robb Elementary hinges on the status of the 38th Judicial District Attorney’s case tied to the May 24 shooting, interim superintendent Gary Patterson said.
Patterson told the Leader-News in July that the district hoped to demolish the school sometime this fall. That still might happen if DA Christina Mitchell’s case comes together by that time.
Mitchell’s case was among the numerous, and is now the final, that tied the school up in litigation that prevented it from being demolished, Patterson said. The lawsuits required case investigators to conduct site visits to the crime scene.
Last month, Mitchell said she planned to take a case on the Robb shooting to a grand jury by the end of this year. The timeline has been pushed back a few times in the 15 months May 24, 2022.
In June of 2022, Mitchell said she expected the Texas Department of Public Safety/Texas Rangers investigation to take about six months. That was extended to a year in November. Then, near the one-year anniversary of the tragedy in May, Mitchell attributed the ongoing delay to the gravity of the investigation.
Mitchell is also a defendant in a suit filed Aug. 30 by Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. on behalf of the city. The suit, filed in the 38th Judicial District court, accuses Mitchell of participating in a cover-up to keep city personnel from getting evidence needed to finish an investigation of the Uvalde Police Department’s role on May 24.
When demolition eventually begins, it will likely take between eight and 10 weeks to complete, Patterson said.
