According to Texas state senator Roland Gutierrez, and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, victims of the mass shooting at Uvalde’s elementary school are experiencing serious delays in receiving financial aid from state victims’ funds.
A letter addressed to Texas Governor. Greg Abbott was contacted by Gutierrez, McLaughlin and McLaughlin this week to request that Abbott remove District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee as the victim’s center’s head after she received “numerous troubling” reports from constituents.
21 people were killed in the Robb Elementary shooting, which took place May 21, including 19 children and two educators.
In the handling of Uvalde’s shooting, public officials have run into a new problem: delayed compensation.
After the shooting, it was revealed that the law enforcement officers responding to the scene committed several errors aEUR”, including waiting more than an hour before entering the classrooms being targeted by the gunman.
The investigation into the events of that day is ongoing.
McLaughlin and Gutierrez wrote to Abbott, stating that the Uvalde Together Residency Center was established “to provide information and support to those directly affected by the mass shooting.”
According to McLaughlin and Gutierrez, constituents are complaining about delays in receiving money. One family was at high risk of losing power while they were at the hospital to care for their daughter. Others reported receiving “a meager grievance benefit” that only covered two weeks of their pay.
Gutierrez stated in an emailed statement that NPR. “This DA’s office doesn’t have the logistical capability to get answers and resources for Uvalde families.” “The bottom line is that I and the Mayor don’t believe the DA can manage these funds in a way that is both transparent and urgent.” We want to remove politics from the process in order to provide immediate assistance to Uvalde families as soon as possible.
It is not clear how many complaints these two officials received or how much money the center has to offer. The office of Gutierrez did not provide this information.
McLaughlin and Gutierrez are asking Abbott for the Texas Division of Emergency Management to take over the center.
A Gutierrez representative stated that neither Abbott’s office nor Busbee had responded to their claims as of Wednesday.
NPR failed to reach Busbee in its attempt to reach it.
