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The families of the victims killed in the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, have reached a settlement with the city and the county, lawyers for the families announced on Wednesday (May 22).
"For two long years, we have languished in pain and without any accountability from the law enforcement agencies and officers who allowed our families to be destroyed that day," Veronica Luevanos, whose daughter, Jailah, and nephew, Jayce, were killed, said in a statement. "This settlement reflects a first good faith effort, particularly by the City of Uvalde, to begin rebuilding trust in the systems that failed to protect us."
The city will pay the families $2 million from its insurance coverage and provide mental health services for the survivors and the victims' families. In addition, the city will mark May 24 as a day of remembrance and properly maintain the cemetery where many of the victims were buried.
While the families have settled their lawsuits with the city and the county, the lawyers said they filed new lawsuits against the Uvalde School District and 92 police officers.
"It wasn't just Uvalde officers who failed us that day. Nearly 100 officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety have yet to face a shred of accountability for cowering in fear while my daughter and nephew bled to death in their classroom," Luevanos said.