Bombshell Report Reveals Botched Medical Response During Uvalde Shooting
By Dani Medina
December 21, 2022
A bombshell report is shedding light on previously unreleased records that reveal a delay in medical response for Uvalde shooting victims. Documents, video footage, interviews and radio traffic records obtained by The Texas Tribune, ProPublica and The Washington Post show for the first time "that communication lapses and muddled lines of authority among medical responders further hampered treatment."
One example that shows the "flawed" medical response was revealed in the treatment of teacher Eva Mireles. She was placed on the sidewalk near the school where officers began to treat her wounds. Later, a medic said he didn't see any ambulances, while dashboard and body cam footage reveals two were parked about 100 feet away. Two ambulances, however, were "not nearly enough" for the several gunshot victims who were still alive at the time. It took 10 minutes for more ambulances to start arriving at Robb Elementary School.
Furthermore, three students who made it out of the school alive later died. For two of those victims, one of which was Mireles and the other was student Xavier Lopez, 10, critical resources weren't at the ready when medics expected they would be, which delayed hospital treatment. Another student, Jacklyn "Jackie" Cazares, 9, likely survived for over an hour after being shot. She was placed in an ambulance, but died in transport.
Six students were taken to a local hospital in a school bus with no trained medical professional on board. No helicopters, even though they were available, were used to carry victims from the school to a hospital.
"The disjointed medical response frustrated medics while delaying efforts to get ambulances, air transport and other emergency services to victims," the report states. "Medical helicopters with critical supplies of blood tried to land at the school, but an unidentified fire department official told them to wait at an airport 3 miles away. Dozens of parked police vehicles blocked the paths of ambulances trying to reach victims."
This report comes as law enforcement's response to the deadly attack continues to receive backlash. Several state leaders and agencies have defended officers' actions, but have yet to address the medical response, the report states.
The Texas Rangers are currently investigating "what went wrong in Uvalde" — and that includes whether victims could have survived if they received medical care on time. It's difficult to know for certain, however, if any victims could have survived as autopsy reports are not being released.
"The local district attorney has said she will use that investigation to determine whether to charge anyone with a crime, including law enforcement officers," the report states.
This report comes days after a troubling report came out of Uvalde where an inspector posing as an intruder was able to make their way inside a school.