Biden visits Uvalde as Justice Department probes police response

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View online May 30, 2022 1/ Justice Department to investigate police response to Texas school shooting The US Department of Justice will investigate the police response to the Uvalde school shooting. Spokesman Anthony Coley said in a statement on Sunday that "at the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, the US Department of Justice will conduct a Critical Incident Review of the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24".   "The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events," Mr Coley added. "The review will be conducted with the Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing."   "As with prior Justice Department after-action reviews of mass shootings and other critical incidents, this assessment will be fair, transparent, and independent. The Justice Department will publish a report with its findings at the conclusion of its review," he said.   Democratic Texas state senator Roland Gutierrez said "we're all angry" over the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in which 19 children and two teachers were killed.   He spoke with Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, on Saturday. Mr Gutierrez said Mr McCraw told him that there would be a "detailed report including ballistics by next week", CNN reported.   "We're all angry. Law enforcement's angry. I had a long conversation this morning on the way in with Steve McCraw, and he was crying to me and I'm crying to him," Mr Gutierrez told CNN.   "And everybody is frustrated about the failures of what happened. He's assured me I'll have a detailed report including ballistics by next week. I want to know when each agency was here. Moving forward, he assured me never again will DPS stand down for any law enforcement agency. I hope that that's true," he added.   Mr McCraw said on Friday that the school district's chief of police decided that "there was time to retrieve the keys, and wait for a tactical team with the equipment to go ahead and breach the door and take on the subject".   It was "the wrong decision", Mr McCraw said.   Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott said he was misled by law enforcement on Tuesday, the day of the shooting, adding that he was "livid". 2/ Democratic Senator Chris Murphy says Congress has the will to act after Uvalde Connecticut senator's impassioned floor speech after school massacre condemned chamber's inaction 3/ NRA leader Wayne LaPierre survives confidence vote as group's board considers his future New York authorities allege that gun lobby titan and other NRA leaders used millions in funds for personal purposes 4/ Strawberries recalled from grocery stores across North America amid Hepatitis A outbreak Around 17 people have been infected and 12 hospitalised in US, while Canada has recorded 10 infections and four hospitalisations 5/ Kevin Spacey faces formal extradition to UK over sexual assault charges Experts say US police officials may be sent to detain Spacey and produce him in federal court The Big Question Who killed the McStays? The McStays looked like the all-American family living the dream. Joseph Sr ran a successful waterfall business in suburban California, spending every inch of spare time with his raven-haired wife, Summer, and their two young sons, Gianni, four, and Joey Jr, three.   They had a loving circle of friends and family, enjoyed taking trips and watching their young sons grow and learn. Then, in February 2010, they vanished.   There wasn't a sign or sound from them for nearly four years – until an off-road motorcyclist came upon two shallow graves in the Mojave Desert, tragically revealing the bodies of the couple and their children. The shocking find led to even more mysteries – and revealed a surprising number of suspects who seemingly had motives to go after the family. This is their tragic story. Read the full story > Watch / Texas school shooting: Gunman's mother says he 'had his reasons for what he did' NUMBER OF THE DAY 14   – The number of cases of monkeypox confirmed across eight states, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. QUOTE OF THE DAY "Do something!" – Protesters shout to Joe Biden as he visits a memorial to the 19 children and two adults killed by Salvador Ramos in Uvalde, Texas. Other stories you might like Everything but gun control that conservatives have floated in response to school shootings Ethical investing is harder than it looks – here's why A trial by TikTok and the death knell for MeToo. Who won Depp v Heard? Articles available exclusively to subscribers Steven Cutts, The Independent: Could orbiting solar power stations be the way to a net zero future? 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