The families of 19 victims of the Uvalde school shooting have reached a $2 million settlement with the city, and they have now announced new lawsuits, involving them suing 92 Texas police officers plus the school district. As part of the settlement, the city will pay the families a total of $2 million from its insurance coverage and they have promised to provide higher standards and better training for local police.
The announcement arrived just two days before the two-year anniversary of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. On May 24, 2022, 19 fourth-graders and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas were killed when a teenage gunman barged into their classroom and began shooting. 17 others were left injured.
The gunman, who was identified as Uvalde High School student Salvador Ramos, allegedly purchased two assault rifles and tactical gear just days before turning 18 and using the weapons to carry out one of the worst school shootings in American history. After an investigation into Ramos’ personal background, it was reported that he was a bullied loner with no criminal history but with an interest in and access to high-powered firearms and ammunition.
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The incident, which happened two days before Summer break, ended when responding officers eventually entered the room and a Border Patrol officer fatally shot him. A total of 376 officers from across the state rushed to the school to respond, but ultimately none of them breached the door to the classroom to confront the shooter until 77 minutes had lapsed.
Following the Uvalde school shooting, 19 mourning families of the students and teachers killed or injured in the 2022 shooting filed a lawsuit against the city of Uvalde, Texas. On Wednesday (May 22), the families announced that they reached a settlement of $2 million, and in an attempt to seek further responsibility, the families announced that they are now suing 92 police officers with the Texas Department of Public Safety, along with the school district and individual employees.
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At a news conference, Javier Cazares, the father of 9-year-old victim Jacklyn Cazares, said, “It has been an unbearable two years. We all know who took our children’s lives, but there was an obvious systemic failure out there on May 24. The whole world saw that. No amount of money is worth the lives of our children. Justice and accountability has always been my main concern. We’ve been let down so many times, that time has come to do the right thing.”
The city of Uvalde also released a statement after reaching a settlement in the school shooting lawsuit and said, “Today, we are thankful to join the victims’ families in arriving at an agreement that will allow us to remember the Robb Elementary tragedy while moving forward together as a community to bring healing and restoration to all those affected.”
The statement continued, “We will forever be grateful to the victims’ families for working with us over the past year to cultivate an environment of community-wide healing that honors the lives and memories of those we tragically lost. May 24th is our community’s greatest tragedy.”
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