SANTA FE, Texas – Four months after the US Department of Justice was asked to conduct a critical incident review of the May 18, 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, school officials said they are still determining the “best course of action.” A DOJ critical incident review is not a criminal probe and requires the cooperation of all parties involved. KPRC 2 Investigates has learned whether this probe moves forward is largely dependent on Santa Fe ISD’s cooperation.
Despite support from several state and federal lawmakers, as well as family members of victims, Santa Fe city and school district officials remain in discussions with the DOJ over whether the review will move forward.
What is the DOJ being asked to do?
“These people deserve answers,” said retired US Secret Service agent, Michael Matranga. “We can no longer continue to remain silent, it’s not right. We have to seek answers for this.”
Matranga, who is the former head of safety and security for Texas City ISD, made the request on behalf of seven family members who lost loved ones during the mass shooting, and six wounded survivors. Matranga requested the same type of review that was conducted following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. Among its other duties, the DOJ’s Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office conducts these types of reviews to help law enforcement learn where improvements can be made in how officers respond to critical incidents such as mass shootings.
“We think that every mass school shooting should have an after-action report. We can’t learn what needs to be done, we can’t change legislation without this information. We want to stop the next school shooting,” said Flo Rice, a substitute teacher who was critically wounded during the mass shooting.
Parents like Rosie Stone, whose son Chris Stone was killed, say they’ve been asking for six years for a detailed account of how everything unfolded the day of the shooting. Flo Rice said this is not about pointing fingers, and credits school officers with helping save her life, but rather a review to find out if improvements are needed.
“Every time I go to anyone within our Santa Fe ISD, I always get the old, ‘Rosie, but everything ran perfectly, everything ran fine; we don’t have to change anything.’ But if that’s the fact then show us,” said Stone.
Many of the details about the response are shielded from public view because the charged gunman remains incompetent to stand trial, which leaves the criminal case in limbo. Santa Fe ISD police officer John Barnes was the first to confront the gunman and nearly bled to death after a blast from a shotgun shredded an artery in his arm. Asst. Chief Gary Forward applied a life-saving tourniquet to Barnes as other responding officers helped get him to paramedics.
During a recent civil trial regarding the mass shooting, plaintiff’s attorney Clint McGuire told a jury the gunman picked the school’s art rooms because it provided him with the most cover from police and would give him the maximum amount of time to inflict damage.
“So we just want to know what happened from the moment that he showed up to the moment it ended. We want all the details; good or bad, and let the chips fall where they may,” said Flo Rice’s husband, Scot.
The Rices, Stone and several other family members successfully lobbied for the passage of a state law that gave them the ability to review certain pieces of evidence in murder cases that had not yet gone to trial, but the law also requires those viewing the evidence to sign non-disclosure agreements. Stone has seen some of the surveillance video from the school.
“I’m no professional by any means. I don’t know the ins and outs of everything, but I do have common sense. I can say that the things that I saw with my own eyes, I have questions,” said Stone.
Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady said he would support a review by DOJ.
“A number of our elected representatives have called for an investigation by the United States Department of Justice into the law enforcement response to the Santa Fe High School shooting on May 18, 2018. I am confident that our local, state, and federal law enforcement responded professionally and competently. A Department of Justice review will serve the public interest by providing more information to the public about this tragic event and by better informing law enforcement across the country who may have to respond to similar situations in the future.”
The gunman’s defense attorney in the criminal case, Nicholas Poehl, also supports the request for a DOJ review.
“For too long, responsible parties have avoided accountability for the Santa Fe High School shooting, owing to the fact that criminal charges are still pending. These include officials with Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe Independent School District, and law enforcement personnel who responded that day. The recent civil trial did little more than crack the door on important questions whose answers might play an important part in preventing or mitigating the NEXT school/mass shooting event. Accordingly, we support the victims’ and families’ request for an independent investigation by the Department of Justice, and urge local officials to cooperate fully with such an investigation.”
What is the DOJ’s response?
“The Justice Department continues to engage with Sante Fe city officials and has shared the range of training and technical resources available should the city decide to make a formal request for engagement,” Justice Dept. spokesperson Joshua Stueve wrote to KPRC 2.
Since a critical incident review is not a criminal investigation, cooperation from all interested parties is crucial, which is why Matranga’s initial request is not enough to prompt a review. Matranga said he’s been told the DOJ is waiting for the school district to decide whether it will cooperate.
“It’s frustrating to me that we would need to seek the permission or the cooperation of people that have remained silent for six years,” said Matranga.
KPRC 2 asked Santa Fe ISD officials whether the school board supports a critical incident review, and whether the superintendent, Dr. Kevin Bott and police chief Ruben Espinoza believe a review is needed.
“Thank you for reaching out. Currently, our SFISD School Board is in communication with the Department of Justice. We are working with them to determine our best course of action,” Asst. Superintendent for Human Resources and Communication, Jenny Davenport wrote to KPRC 2. “Most importantly, we want to reassure all of our stakeholders that safety and security continue to be our first priority. Santa Fe ISD is committed to transparency with our parents and community.”
Santa Fe Mayor Brandon Noto did send a letter requesting a critical incident review.
“It is critical that we fully understand what went wrong that day in order to improve safeguards and help prevent this type of tragedy from occurring again,” Noto wrote in a July 29 letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In response to a follow-up question from KPRC 2 Noto wrote, “I have been in communication with the COPS division about the resources their office can provide the city.”
Family members of those killed and wounded during the mass shooting continue to question why there has been a different approach to what happened in Santa Fe as opposed to other school shootings. They point to the independent investigations conducted by a Texas House Investigative Committee, the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center and the DOJ following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary.
“This is not a criminal investigation, this is not the purpose of it. This is just an after-action report that we can learn from and hopefully help save children from the same fate,” said Flo Rice.
The Rices and Stone have repeatedly said Gov. Greg Abbott promised a 3rd party, root cause investigation into what happened, but no such review materialized.
“We’ve been to the governor’s mansion and met with him in 2018. Rosie, Flo and I were told we would get a commission or an investigation like they did in Parkland (Florida), and it never happened. So it’s it’s kind of like, ‘why is Santa Fe always the one that gets left out?’” said Scot Rice.
Other lawmakers responses
Several state and federal lawmakers have since sent letters supporting a DOJ review of the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, as well as a rebuke of the DOJ’s initial response to the request. You can read those letters below.