'I am livid.' Gov. Abbott says he was misled about police action during Uvalde shooting

Gov. Greg Abbott, speaking in Uvalde on Friday afternoon hours after law enforcement acknowledged that officers were blocked from engaging the shooter that killed 21 people in Robb Elementary School, said he was "absolutely livid" over inaccurate information about the shooting response that he was provided, and then passed on to the public, two days earlier.

"I was misled," Abbott told assembled reporters. "I am livid about what happened. I was on this very stage two days ago, and I was telling the public information that had been told to me. ... I wrote down hand notes, in detail, about what everybody in that room told me in sequential order, about what happened."

The bad information led Abbott to commend officers for their bravery in running toward the gunfire.

"As everyone has learned, the information that I was given turned out in part to be inaccurate, and I am absolutely livid about that, he said.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said earlier Friday that law enforcement officers were massed outside the classroom for more than an hour but the incident commander, the chief of police of the Uvalde school district, stopped officers from entering because he determined that no lives were at risk, even as people inside the classroom were calling 911 pleading for help.

McCraw said that was the wrong decision.

"Clearly there were kids in the room. Clearly they were at risk," McCraw said.

The governor added that he expected investigations by the Texas Rangers and FBI "to get to the bottom of every fact with absolute certainty."

"The people whose lives have been destroyed, they need answers that are accurate, and it is inexcusable that they may have suffered from any inaccurate information whatsoever," Abbott said.

Responding to demands, largely from Democrats, that he convene a special session of the Legislature in response to the Uvalde attack, Abbott said "all options are on the table."

Abbott said areas of concern, for a special session or the regular session that begins in January, will be laws to address health care needs as well as any other "shortcomings" revealed as the investigation into Tuesday's mass shooting continues.

"There will be committees formed, there will be meetings held, there will be proposals that will be derived, many of which will lead to laws," he said. "The status quo is unacceptable. This crime is unacceptable. ... We're not going to do nothing about it."

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, interrupted Abbott’s news conference to press for a special session to consider bills restricting access to weapons like the one used Tuesday to kill 19 students and two teachers.

Addressing reporters outside the Uvalde High School auditorium, Gutierrez spoke passionately about the need to reform the state’s gun laws.

“These kids wouldn’t have died if this governor and his Republican colleagues had a few bills in place, had some laws in place that would have restricted access to this type of weaponry,” he said. “What happened here isn’t right.”

Gutierrez, whose district includes Uvalde, also criticized Abbott for scapegoating mental health as a factor in Tuesday’s shooting.

“I’ve been talking to families here for the past three days, and my heart is broken,” he said, breaking down in tears. “This just cannot be anymore.”

During the news conference, however, Abbott said he saw no need to roll back laws passed last year to expand gun rights, including a law allowing gun owners to carry handguns without first obtaining a state-issued license to carry.

"Let's be clear about one thing. None of the laws that I signed this past session had any intersection with this crime at all," he said. "There was nothing about the laws from this past session that had any relevancy to the crime that occurred here."

Shortly after Abbott's news conference, Esmeralda Bravo, who lost a granddaughter and a grandniece in the shooting, shook with anger.

“They didn’t act fast enough. That was their job. That’s one of the pledges they make,” she said. “They should have instantly gone in. And they waited a whole hour.”

Bravo, 64, said her family spent agonizingly long hours waiting for news Tuesday, not realizing the two girls had been killed almost immediately.

“We were going crazy looking for them, and all the time their bodies were in the classroom,” Bravo said. “They were such sweet children.”

Abbott had gathered in Uvalde to publicize state and private help being offered to victims, their families and the residents after deciding to cancel a scheduled appearance at the National Rifle Association convention in Houston. The governor sent a videotaped message to the NRA gathering instead.

Abbott promised help for those hurt in any way by the shooting.

"We will be here as long as it takes," he said, adding that in a meeting before the news conference, an anonymous donor provided $175,000 to ensure that no family incurs any expense related to funerals, in addition to free services offered by two Uvalde funeral homes.

Abbott also encouraged residents to take advantage of free mental health care that is being offered, as well as money for travel and lodging costs related to upcoming funerals.

Staff writer Megan Menchaca, USA Today staff writer Trevor Hughes and Arizona Republic staff writer Rafael Carranza contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 'Livid' Abbott says he was misled on police action in Uvalde shooting