Uvalde - The entire police force of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department was suspended on Friday, awaiting the outcome of an investigation following the mass shooting in May that killed 19 students and two teachers, the district said in a statement.

The district said all activities of the department, which consists of five officers and one security guard were suspended "for a period of time."

The suspension comes more than a week after parents of children who survived the shooting sued the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, former officials, the manufacturer of the gun used in the massacre and others.

The district is awaiting the results of an investigation led by the Texas Police Chiefs Association and an outside firm into the shooting at Robb Elementary School, expected to be released later this month.

The district said that as a "result of the recent developments," one officer, Lieutenant Miguel Hernandez, was placed on administrative leave. Ken Mueller, the director of student services, was also placed on administrative leave and will retire, the district said in its statement.

The police department has been under investigation for its response to the shooting in May, after nearly 400 law enforcement officers waited outside school classrooms for more than an hour before confronting and killing the shooter.

In July, the Texas legislature released a report blaming the response on “systemic failures” and poor leadership, adding that inaction allowed for the death toll to grow higher.
-Reuters