What are the key takeaways from DOJ's Uvalde shooting report? Here's a closer look

In a scathing review, the U.S. Department of Justice identified "several critical failures" in response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

The comprehensive report the department released Thursday examined the May 24, 2022, mass shooting, and it found state and local law enforcement's response to the attack was a "significant failure," with hundreds of law enforcement officers at the scene with a "lack of clear communication and command structure."

The department reviewed more than 14,000 pieces of data and documentation, including training logs, audio, video, photographs, personal records and investigative records.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

1. The 'most significant failure' came from responding officers

Responding law enforcement officers entered Robb Elementary School three minutes after the gunman fired his first shots inside classrooms 111 and 112.

An attempt to enter the classrooms was halted after two police officers sustained shrapnel wounds, leading all responding officers to take cover and retreat, according to the report. Uvalde Police Department Acting Chief Mariano Pargas, who was among the first on the scene, was identified in the report as being "in the best position to start taking command and control," but he never did so.

Officers attempted to enter the classrooms three more times. At this point, Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo directed officers to evacuate the school and find keys to the classroom, while he negotiated with the gunman, instead of focusing on neutralizing him.

'Failure': DOJ's scathing Uvalde school shooting report criticizes law enforcement response

This breakdown in communication led officers to falsely report the incident as a barricaded or contained subject, instead of an active shooter. Calls to 911 from inside classrooms 111 and 112 determined that the shooter was inside the school, and he had not been contained or apprehended. Instead, he continued to maim and kill. The report determined this was one of many grave mistakes in officers' response.

Furthermore, Arredondo failed to take control of the scene, which would typically have an incident command post, staging area or clear perimeter around the school. He had also discarded his radios before entering the school, instead using his cellphone and verbal commands, according to the report.

Arriving officers and other emergency responders were not given clear instructions and did not receive accurate information on the unfolding situation or how to support response efforts. Ambulances responding to the scene were accidentally blocked by the scores of law enforcement vehicles on the road around the school. Many believed the gunman had been killed, and that there was no sense of urgency, according to the report.

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The critical 77 minutes that unfolded from the first officers' entry into the school to the eventual gunman's killing, proved to be catastrophic.

"The report concludes that had law enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices and gone right after the shooter to stop him, lives would have been saved and people would have survived," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference in Uvalde on Thursday.

2. Misinformation ran rampant, making scene difficult to coordinate

The report revealed myriad of instances in which inaccurate information led to breakdowns in communication and to procedural failures among emergency personnel who responded to Robb Elementary School shooting.

The report notes that many of the "overwhelming" amount of law enforcement personnel who arrived at the school initially received information that led them to wrongly believe the shooter had already been killed or that Arredondo, then the chief of the Uvalde school district's police department, was in the room with the shooter. That belief was exacerbated by the observed lack of urgency by police to enter the classrooms the shooter was in, according to the report.

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Gov. Greg Abbott, the first public official to give a briefing on the shooting during an unrelated news conference, provided inaccurate figures regarding the number of people killed, as well as provided an incorrect surname for the gunman, the report found.

Families of children at the school also received incorrect information about the statuses of their children, according to the report. After the shooting, the Uvalde school district posted on social media that all students and staff were safe, which conflicted with Uvalde Police Department reports from that time.

DOJ report: Read the full 500-page Uvalde shooting report released by US Department of Justice

3. Key responders lacked active shooter training

The report notes that some of the initial officers on the scene lacked active shooter training. Others had received active shooter training but were given incorrect information.

Training provided by the Uvalde school district police had inaccurately determined that an active shooter situation could transition into a hostage or barricaded subject situation. A discrepancy between first responders who received active shooter training and those who had not hampered efforts, which proved fatal when coupled with miscommunication and ineffective leadership, the report notes.

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4. Some victims have still not received support

Some families of victims of the tragedy — including those who were killed, injured or traumatized by the incident — have yet to receive mental health and support services more than 600 days after the shooting.

Organizations that arrived in Uvalde in the immediate aftermath of the shooting have experienced difficulty tracking victims' families, and transitions between service providers have exacerbated the issue, the report found. The report also stressed the need for long-term support to those in the Uvalde community who need it.

"The Uvalde community continues to need support and guidance as it struggles with the negative impacts of the failed response, a lack of accountability for those implicated in this failure and remaining gaps in the information about what happened to their loved ones," the report states.

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5. Report to serve as a guideline for future mass shootings

One of the review's goals is to “assess what happened and to provide guidance moving forward" to improve future preparation for and responses to mass shootings in other communities. This indicates that Garland, and the federal government at large, believes there will be more incidents of mass violence in the future. The report indicates that "efforts first must be dedicated to making entry into the room, stopping the subject, and rendering aid to victims."

Since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, active shooter scenarios must prioritize the neutralization of the perpetrator. Twenty-three years later, Uvalde proved that the priority must still be placed upon neutralization, regardless of equipment, armor and personnel training.

Statesman reporter Bayliss Wagner contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: DOJ releases Uvalde school shooting report. Here are 5 key takeaways