TEXAS, USA — It's been nearly four months since 19 fourth graders and two teachers were murdered inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
Since May 24, the actions of responding law enforcement agencies have been under a microscope.
On Thursday, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw spoke about the unfolding story in Uvalde for the first time since the tragedy.
Two officers have been suspended without pay as of Thursday, while five other officers are still actively on duty. By the end of the investigation, all 376 officers will be reviewed.
Our sister-station in Austin, KVUE, interviewed McCraw, who said the agency has some level of culpability. But he wants to ensure the public full transparency on what went down in those hallways during the active scene.
"Video and audio evidence, it can't be disputed, it's there," McCraw said. "It's not going anywhere and the sooner we get all of it out to the families, or the public, and to the media the better off the department is."
McCraw said the agency needs to hold themselves accountable for any mistakes. McCraw added how Uvalde County has a small group of DPS officers and during the time of the shooting two were working near the border.
"They drove 120 mph to get there," McCraw said. "When they get there they're being reported, and the information they're getting is plain and simple. It's a barricaded subject."
McCraw also said the report that the shooter had barricaded himself was not just given by DPS officers at the scene, but also Uvalde Police Department, Uvalde County Sheriff's Office deputies, constables and border patrol agents.
"We don't mind taking responsibility for ourselves, but to point the finger at somebody else," McCraw said. "To be honest, and to be brutally candid the evidence was compelling. It hasn't changed since my testimony, and since that press conference. A mistake was made."
That mistake being that officers treated the situation as a barricaded subject rather than an active shooter that needed to be neutralized.
McGraw also spoke about the first press conference he held and how it did not go well with local elected officials. They said he was shifting the blame on local law enforcement.
"I think they truly believed initially that it really was a heroic law enforcement response," McCraw said. "To enter that room was suicidal. Well, guess what? That's (what) we get paid to do, is to enter that room. Plain and simple, it's no excuse no alibis in that situation."
McCraw also said when it comes to the seven officers under the investigation by the department’s inspector general it won’t be on a basis of any policy violations, rather that the department has higher expectations and standards when it come to these situations.
McCraw also said ultimately the district attorney and a grand jury will determine whether if there was any other culpability by any officer in that hallway.
CBS19 stands "Uvalde Strong" and is praying for the families who continue to grieve.