Uvalde district attorney accused of cover-up in elementary school massacre

On Tuesday, the city of Uvalde, Texas filed a lawsuit against District Attorney Christina Mitchell, demanding she release information related to last year's mass shooting at Robb Elementary to independent investigator Jesse Prado.

Mayor Don McLaughlin accused Mitchell of engaging in a cover-up of the facts following the incident, in which gunman Salvador Ramos claimed the lives of two teachers and 19 students.

As ABC News reports, municipal officials had originally filed a lawsuit against the district attorney in December 2022, seven months after the tragedy occurred, but it was dismissed when she vowed to abide by their request and provide the relevant documents to Prado. In the months since, however, she has not followed through, leading the mayor and his colleagues to re-file the suit in Uvalde County District Court. The city hopes to "conduct an internal affairs investigation with Mitchell's investigative information and documents as long as the district attorney's criminal investigation is not compromised."
 

In a statement, McLoughlin said he believed Mitchell had not complied because she "has been involved in a cover-up regarding the city's investigation into the Robb School tragedy."

"We believe she is doing so," he continued, "because her Chief Investigator, Shayne Gilland, was onsite on May 24 at Robb School and this taints her entire inquiry into any possible criminal conduct by law enforcement."

McLoughlin called on Mitchell to "resign immediately" over her lack of transparency. "Local, state, and federal agencies, we are all adults and need to just lay the facts on the table. It's been fifteen months since this tragedy, and I feel the families and our community deserve answers."

In an interview with KSAT, McLoughlin further alleged that crucial pieces of evidence were being withheld from him and Prado.

"We needed bodycams they had," he said. "It was available. We wanted the school, the original school video." He explained that when he asked her for the footage, he was "told to go to YouTube and get it off YouTube."