UVALDE, Texas – U.S. Customs and Border Protection released a report Thursday detailing the agency’s response to the Uvalde shooting on May 24, 2022.
The 203-page report outlined a need for clarity in legal authorities and agency policy and training, according to the agency. The purpose of the report — which had the majority of names redacted — was to “determine whether any actions can be taken to improve CBP’s performance in similar situations in the future.”
The report was the third released this year that detailed the cascading failures in response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 19 fourth-grade students and two of their teachers.
Law enforcement took more than 77 minutes to confront the shooter, who barricaded himself in two adjoining classrooms. While a name has not been made public, it’s been reported that the gunman was killed by a group led by a Border Patrol tactical team.
A 2022 Texas House report revealed Border Patrol had the largest law enforcement presence at Robb Elementary with 149 Border Patrol officers who responded on the day of the shooting.
“No law enforcement official ever clearly established command at the school during the incident, leading to delays, inaction, and potentially further loss of life,” the report stated.
Read the full report below.
None of the first responders from state, local and federal law enforcement agencies in a position to take down the shooter had access to the school layout or keys to gain access to the school, according to the report.
Family members of the victims told KSAT they were briefed on the report by Border Patrol this week.
The report provided a descriptive timeline of events that took place since the shooter was first seen at the elementary.
- 11:28:25 a.m. - The shooter crashed his truck at the intersection of Grove and Geraldine streets.
- 11:31:36 a.m. - Multiple shots were fired at Robb Elementary School toward windows on the west side of the school.
- 11:33:02 a.m. - The shooter entered the school through the west entrance and began firing at the doors of Classrooms 111 and 112. He entered the classrooms and kept firing.
- 11:36:02 a.m. The first law enforcement officers including a Uvalde Police lieutenant and UPD staff sergeant entered the building in the same door as the shooter. UPD Acting Chief Mariano Pargas entered seconds later.
- 11:36:11 a.m. - UCISDPD Chief Arredondo entered the building through the south entrance and approached Classrooms 111 and 112 from the opposite side of the building as the law enforcement officers who entered through the west entrance.
- 11:37:03 a.m. - “The assailant shot through the metal doors of the Classrooms 111 and 112 as law enforcement officers approached, striking two officers with shrapnel,” the report stated. “The law enforcement officers withdrew from their position near the doors of Classrooms 111 and 112 to a nearby position at the north end of the hallway, approximately 70 feet from the doors of Classrooms 111 and 112,” the report stated. “UCISDPD Chief Arredondo and other officers took a position at the south end of the hallway opposite the law enforcement officers, approximately 30 feet from the doors of Classrooms 111 and 112. The assailant stopped shooting,” the report stated.
- 11:38:35 a.m. - The first CBP employee, identified as “Border Patrol Agent - Intelligence (BPA-I) USBP DRT, Sector Intelligence Unit (SIU),” entered the building through the west entrance.
- Approximately at 12:05:00 p.m. - Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco arrived at Robb Elementary School.
- 12:16:47 p.m. - “Upon hearing from TXDPS Sergeant that a BORTAC team was possibly about to “go in” to Classrooms 111 and 112, Arredondo said, “Tell them to f***ing wait...no one comes in,” as he tried to enter Classroom 109 to ensure it was empty,” the report stated. From then, multiple law enforcement agencies entered the building including Texas Rangers and U.S. Marshals.
- 12:26:29 p.m. - Arredondo, standing in the south hallway speaking to an unknown person on the phone, said, “People are going to ask why we are taking so long, OK? So that’s what we’re trying to preserve the rest of the lives first,” the report stated.
- 12:46:49 p.m. - Officers in the hallway near Classrooms 111 and 112 begin to form lines in preparation to make entry.
- 12:49:09 p.m. - Border Patrol agents open the door to Classroom 111 to visually assess the classroom.
- 12:50:02 p.m. - Border Patrol agents and a Zapata County Sheriff’s Office deputy enter the classroom and are shot at by the gunman. They returned fire, killing the gunman.
Body camera video released by the City of Uvalde in August 2024 showed the moments officers stormed the classroom at around 12:50 p.m.
“Because the assailant fired rounds through the classroom door and injured some of the first responding law enforcement officers, responding personnel avoided the area immediately in front of the classroom doors. Consequently, the actions of the personnel north of the classrooms were not well coordinated or communicated with the responding personnel in the same hallway south of the classrooms,” the release stated.
The review by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Professional Responsibility is the first to specifically scrutinize the actions of the 188 Border Patrol agents who gathered at Robb Elementary School.
Since the shooting, Border Patrol has largely not faced the same sharp criticism as Texas state troopers and local police over the failure to confront the shooter sooner.
Two Uvalde school police officers accused of failing to act were indicted this summer and have pleaded not guilty.
Families of the victims have long sought accountability for the slow police response in the South Texas city.
Over 90 state police officials were at the scene, as well as school and city police. Multiple federal and state investigations have laid bare cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers.
CBP released images to ABC News back in 2022 that showed at least one agent suffered injuries after exchanging gunfire with the shooter.
In January 2024, the Department of Justice’s report identified “cascading failures” in law enforcement’s handling of the massacre.
Results from a city-funded independent investigation were released in March 2024. Austin-area investigator Jesse Prado said Uvalde police did not commit any wrongdoing or violate any policy in its response to the elementary school.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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