Uvalde, Texas – Family members of the victims of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde have reached a $2 million settlement with the city over the deadly 2022 rampage, officials announced Wednesday. The families also announced plans to file lawsuits against dozens of Texas Department of Public Safety officers and the Uvalde school district, including a $500 million federal suit against nearly 100 state police officers involved in the law enforcement response that was heavily criticized.
The settlement, announced two years after a teenage gunman took the lives of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, will see the city of Uvalde pay a total of $2 million to the families of 17 children killed in the shooting and two children who survived. The families’ attorneys stated that the money will come from the city’s insurance coverage.
According to the families’ attorneys, the settlement also includes commitments from the Uvalde Police Department to provide enhanced training for officers and establish a new standard for responding to similar incidents. Additionally, the city pledged to support mental health services for the families, survivors, and community members, as well as create a committee to work with the families on a permanent memorial.
The families are also pursuing legal action against 92 state Department of Public Safety officers and the school district, including the former principal of Robb Elementary School and the former school district police chief who was fired following the shooting. The families’ attorneys mentioned that the law enforcement response to the shooting was considered a failure in a Justice Department report released in January.
At a news conference, attorney Josh Koskoff stated that the families would also be suing the federal government down the line, highlighting the involvement of over 150 federal officers at the scene of the shooting. The families aim to seek justice and accountability for the systemic failures that led to the tragic events on that fateful day in Uvalde.
Javier Cazares, who lost his 9-year-old daughter in the shooting, emphasized the need for accountability and justice for the lives lost. The families’ pursuit of legal action is driven by their desire to prevent similar tragedies in the future and hold those responsible accountable for their actions and inactions.