Uvalde reaches settlement with families of school shooting victims

Families of the Robb Elementary School shooting victims reached a settlement with the city of Uvalde, Texas, an attorney representing the families said.

Josh Koskoff, an attorney representing 19 families who had family injured or killed in the 2022 school shooting, shared that the city approved the settlement in a unanimous vote.

“The road to healing is long and painful, but we are hopeful that this agreement enables families who lost so much and the city they call home to continue that process,” Koskoff said in a statement.

The Texas mass shooting left 19 students and two teachers dead.

Last year, the Department of Justice released a scathing report that found there was a lack of preparation, communication and urgency from law enforcement. Nearly 400 members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies stood outside the elementary school for 77 minutes while the gunman was inside, and parents pleaded with them to intervene.

Students inside the school called 911 and officers eventually went in and killed the 18-year-old shooter.

Several top law enforcement officers lost their jobs, and former police Chief Pete Arredondo was indicted last year in response to law enforcement’s lack of action, which received sharp criticism.

Koskoff, whose firm also reached settlements for victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, did not specify the terms of the settlement reached in Uvalde.

Koskoff previously told ABC News when he filed the suit that plaintiffs were asking to designate May 24 as an official day of remembrance, as well as have the city maintain the cemetery where many victims were buried.

Mayor Hector Luevano said at the Uvalde City Council meeting that nothing could ever make up for the loss and harm the families had endured, but the settlement agreement “marks an important step forward in advancing community healing,” NBC News reported.

Luevano said the city will work with the families for a permanent memorial. He said he looks forward to continuing work and collaboration with the school’s families to ensure the community can “move forward on the path to collective healing and reconciliation.”