January 18, 2024

Statement from Congressman Castro on Critical Incident Review on Uvalde Mass Shooting

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) released the following statement as a preliminary response to the Department of Justice’s Critical Incident Review on the May 2022 school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas:

“My heart is with the families in Uvalde as they relive the worst days of their lives. Nearly two years after the massacre, the anguish and pain at Robb Elementary School is impossible to forget. As a father of three kids – two in elementary school – I’m furious and saddened by the ways that Uvalde’s grieving families have been victimized, first by a preventable shooting, and then by Governor Abbott, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, and other public officials in Texas who hid the truth about Uvalde and lied to cover up their failures.

“In the aftermath of the massacre at Robb Elementary School, Uvalde families have continuously pressed lawmakers to pass common-sense gun laws that could prevent mass shootings. The 2022 passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was a good step forward, but we need universal background checks and a ban on assault rifles to save lives. Uvalde was every parent’s worst nightmare, and it’s hard to believe that national and state policy changed so little in response.

“I hope the Department of Justice’s Critical Incident Review will provide transparency and accountability in Uvalde and a roadmap to protect America’s children. Uvalde families deserve nothing less than the truth.”