Texas House creates special committee to investigate Uvalde school shooting

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced Friday the creation of a special investigative committee to examine the Robb Elementary School shooting.

Phelan selected two House members and former Texas Supreme Court judge Eva Guzman, who unsuccessfully ran for attorney general this year, to serve on the committee.

“The fact we still do not have an accurate picture of what exactly happened in Uvalde is an outrage,” Phelan said in a media statement.

The investigative committee will have subpoena power to compel witness testimony and evidence related to the May 24 shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead, as well as 17 injured. Phelan said the committee will examine evidence from law enforcement and will reach findings in the shooting “as soon as possible to help inform the work of the House.”

Joining Guzman are Lubbock Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows and El Paso Democrat Rep. Joe Moody. Burrows will chair the committee.

Phelan’s announcement comes after Gov. Greg Abbott requested the formation of special committees in both the House and Senate to examine school safety in the wake of the shooting.

Phelan’s investigative committee is separate from the special committees and is the first legislative inquiry into the law enforcement response to the shooting that has come under intense scrutiny. At the center of the controversy is the decision by Uvalde schools police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo to not confront the 18-year-old gunman for more than 45 minutes while as many as 19 officers had gathered in the halls of Robb Elementary.

“Every day, we receive new information that conflicts with previous reports, making it not only difficult for authorities to figure out next steps, but for the grieving families of the victims to receive closure,” Phelan said.

On Friday, San Antonio state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, told the Associated Press that the incident commander during the shooting was not carrying a radio as the shooting unfolded. It was the latest information since it was learned that 911 calls children made inside the school were not being communicated to police inside the school.

The account of the shooting has been plagued with misinformation since the outset. That has in part led to a Justice Department investigation of the police response to the shooting.

Burrows said the committee will begin its work immediately to provide a “full and truthful account of what happened in Uvalde.”

“As the father of three young boys, this unimaginable tragedy brought me to my knees and it is with that same fervor that I commit to finding answers for the parents of Uvalde,” Burrows said in a statement. “This investigation will be thorough and complete, with no preconceived notions of what did or did not occur. Our goal is to provide an unbiased and objective report that can be relied upon by the legislature as it considers policy to prevent future school shootings.”

Phelan’s appointment of Moody to the investigative committee drew criticism from the head of the Texas Republican Party. On Twitter, Texas GOP Chairman Matt Rinaldi called Moody’s appointment “indefensible.”

“The Democrat appointed to investigate the Uvalde shooting concluded that the cause of El Paso shooting that killed 23 people in 2019 was Republicans who oppose illegal immigration,” Rinaldi said. “Why would we trust his judgement (sic) to find the cause of this tragedy?”

“The people of Texas — the parents of Uvalde — deserve the unvarnished truth about what happened. That’s not a partisan issue; the facts are the facts, and I intend to lay them bare,” Moody said in a statement. “Only then can we have an honest conversation about what true justice and good policy should come next.”

In addition to creating the investigative committee, Phelan appointed several House members to the Select Committee on Youth Health and Safety. He also issued new charges to that committee and the Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.

None of the charges include creating new gun restriction laws, despite a crescendo of calls from Democrats to enact new firearms regulations in the wake of the shooting. On Thursday, President Joe Biden called for Congress to pass new restrictions such as red flag laws, universal background checks and raising the age on the purchase of semi-automatic rifles like those used in the Uvalde school shooting.

The six House members added to the state House committees represent communities affected by mass shootings in recent years. They include Fort Worth Rep. Charlie Geren, who represents White Settlement, where a gunman killed two in the 2019 shooting at West Freeway Church of Christ.

Democrats and a few Republicans have demanded the governor call a special session of the Legislature to address the shooting. As he has after past shootings, Abbott has resisted those calls.

Late Friday, Patrick said he wants $50 million to immediately outfit Texas police officers with bulletproof shields to better allow officers to respond to active shooters.

Patrick called upon Phelan to join him and other members of the Legislative Budget Board to reallocate the money to Governor Greg Abbot’s office or the Department of Public Safety to get the shields to police before the beginning of the fall school year.

“If every member of law enforcement across the state, approximately 80,000 officers, had a bulletproof shield in their vehicle, their ability to respond to an active shooter situation would be greatly enhanced,” Patrick said.

Patrick said he would send a draft of the funding request to Phelan Monday.

A message to Phelan’s office seeking comment on Patrick’s request was not immediately returned.