Hi Reader,
Last year, a team of reporters spent months analyzing one of the most wrenching mass shooting responses in recent history, and ultimately revealed a profound failing: States across the country are providing devastatingly insufficient training for law enforcement to confront a mass shooter, leaving critical and long-overlooked gaps in preparedness between children and the officers expected to protect them.
ProPublica partnered with The Texas Tribune and FRONTLINE to provide a detailed analysis of the deeply flawed law enforcement response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. After analyzing a trove of raw materials from a state investigation whose findings had yet to be released, we found that when confronted with a mass shooter, the children and teachers of Uvalde knew what to do. Many officers did not. Further investigation revealed an astounding lack of sufficient training to prepare officers nationwide for a mass shooting. This finding was echoed in the federal probe released soon after; U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that law enforcement agencies across the country should immediately prioritize active shooter training.
This reporting has seen results. Texas lawmakers announced a slate of bills that aim to better prepare schools and law enforcement for mass casualty events, and just last month, the city of Uvalde announced that it will overhaul police training and hiring policies as part of a settlement with the families of 19 victims. Our “Inside the Uvalde Response” film and related reporting were named 2024 finalists for a Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting for “advancing understanding of law enforcement’s catastrophic response to the mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school and also for documenting the political and policy shortcomings that have led to similar deadly police failures across the country.”
Our reporters reviewed hundreds of hours of body-camera footage, radio and dispatch communications, and investigative interviews to ensure the public could understand what went wrong, and what changes might help avoid a similar tragedy. When the systems designed to protect us fail, we take an unflinching look and scrutinize all available data, and we make the results public, free for anyone to review. This is our role as investigative journalists and our duty as a nonprofit newsroom operating in the public's interest.
The power of journalism to activate change in this world is made greater by the number of folks standing beside us. Join us today, with your gift of any amount, and help us continue this critical mission of investigative journalism that spurs impact.
Thanks so much,
Jill Shepherd
Proud ProPublican
