One year after Uvalde shooting, investigation of police response continues: U.S. media

NEW YORK, May 23 (Xinhua) -- A criminal investigation in the U.S. state of Texas over the hesitant police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting is still ongoing as Wednesday marks one year since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde, reported The Associated Press on Monday.

"The continuing probe underlines the lasting fallout over Texas' deadliest school shooting and how the days after the attack were marred by authorities giving inaccurate and conflicting accounts about efforts made to stop a teenage gunman armed with an AR-style rifle," said the report.

The investigation has run parallel to a new wave of public anger in the United States over gun violence, renewed calls for stricter firearm regulations and legal challenges over authorities in Uvalde continuing to withhold public records related to the shooting and the police response, it noted.

A damning report by Texas lawmakers put nearly 400 officers on the scene from an array of federal, state and local agencies. The findings laid out how heavily armed officers waited more than an hour to confront and kill the 18-year-old gunman. It also accused police of failing "to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety," according to the Associated Press report.

At least five officers who were put under investigation after the shooting were either fired or resigned, although a full accounting is unclear. The head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Steve McCraw, put much of the blame after the attack on Uvalde's school police chief, who was later fired by trustees, it added.