Robb Elementary School, site of massacre will be razed, Uvalde mayor says

The Uvalde, Texas, elementary school where a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers last month will be demolished, the city's mayor said.

Speaking during an emotional council meeting with residents Tuesday, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said he did not believe any child or teacher should be asked to return to Robb Elementary School, where the deadly shooting unfolded May 24.

“My understanding — and I had this discussion with the superintendent — that school will be demolished,” he said.


“You can never ask a child to go back or a teacher to go back in that school ever,” McLaughlin added. No timeline for the demolition was provided.

President Joe Biden had also previously expressed support for the school's destruction. Robb Elementary will not be the first school to be razed in the wake of a major tragedy.

Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 students and six staff members were fatally shot by a 20-year-old gunman in 2012, was also demolished and rebuilt.

During Tuesday's council meeting, McLaughlin expressed frustration over difficulties in getting answers from those investigating the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary, as well as the police response, which has been heavily criticized.

With the Texas Rangers, an agency with the Texas Department of Public Safety, leading the investigation, McLaughlin said he was upset that he and other city officials were not getting updates on the probe. “I’m very frustrated with the way they’re handling it. Very frustrated because, like I said, we’re not getting any information,” he said.