Texas state trooper fired over hesitant response to Uvalde mass shooting

A state trooper among the first to respond to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Texas has been fired.

The Texas Department of Public Safety on Friday served Sgt. Juan Maldonado with termination papers, spokeswoman Ericka Miller confirmed. He is the first member of the state police force to lose his job over the botched response to the May massacre.

In the months since the shooting in Uvalde, law enforcement has weathered a fierce storm of backlash, with critics finding fault over their decision against immediately engaging the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who stormed the school and then barricaded himself inside of a classroom. It took authorities 77 minutes to find a key and unlock the door.

By then, Ramos managed to fatally shoot two teachers and 19 students. He was ultimately killed by a responding agent with the United States border patrol.

Seven Department of Public Safety troopers were placed under internal investigation this summer after a report by lawmakers revealed that state police had 90 officers at the scene, more than any other agency.

Security camera footage revealed that Maldonado, a 23-year veteran of the force, held the door open to the school and then stood by as another officer ran out of the building, bleeding. He was accused of not following active shooter protocol.

Steve McCraw, the Department of Public Safety director, has repeatedly blasted the response from law enforcement, but specifically placed the blame on Peter Arredondo, the former head of the six-member police force tasked with keeping Uvalde schools safe.

He was fired in August.

With News Wire Services