Garland announces next steps in Justice Dept's Uvalde school shooting review

Attorney General Merrick Garland is detailing the next steps in the Justice Department's critical incident review of the Uvalde school shooting that resulted in the deaths of 19 children and two adults.

"There is nothing that we can do that can undo the pain borne both by the survivors' families, victims and the community and the country," Garland said Wednesday. "But the independence and transparency and expertise of the Justice Department can go a long way toward assessing what happened in Uvalde with respect to the law enforcement response and to giving guidance for the future."

Garland said that the review, undertaken at the request of the Uvalde mayor, will be comprehensive, transparent and independent. He also said the Justice Department has been assured of cooperation on the ground from state, federal and local officials. He told reporters that work is already underway and will be on the ground in Uvalde, as necessary. 

The review follows fierce scrutiny and growing criticism over apparent delays in law enforcement's response, as well as contradicting statements from Texas officials in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, prompting the Texas Department of Public Safety to revise its own timeline.  

The goal of the review, which was announced at the end of May, "is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses, identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events, and provide a roadmap for community safety and engagement before, during, and after such incidents," the Justice Department said in a statement Wednesday.

The Justice Department is "committed to moving as expeditiously as possible," a release by the department said, and will carry out incident reconstruction, review relevant documents and make site visits. The department will interview law enforcement, school officials and others as part of its review.

It will examine the policies, training, communications, deployment and incident command, tactics and practices related to preparing for and responding to active shooters. 

The Community Oriented Policing Services office, known as COPS, is leading the review along with experts in the field.

Once the review is complete, a final report will be released.

Nicole Sganga contributed to this report.