Uvalde survivors file $27 billion lawsuit against Texas officers for response to deadly shooting

Survivors of the mass school shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school have filed a $27 billion class-action suit against responding police officers, arguing they failed to follow protocol to stop the gunman.

The suit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the May 24 attack at Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde.

The suit names as defendants the city of Uvalde and its police department, the school district, several police and school officials and the state Department of Public Safety.

The plaintiffs include parents, teachers, and staff members.

The shooter entered the school and remained barricaded in a classroom for over 70 minutes before he was subdued and arrested.  

"Law enforcement took seventy-seven minutes to accomplish what they were duty bound to expeditiously perform," the lawsuit states. 

About 300 law enforcement officers came to the school in response to a report of an active shooter, whom authorities have identified as Salvador Ramos.

The Texas state House has published a 77-page report that listed “shortcomings and failures” in the responses by law enforcement and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.

The school district said it cannot comment or provide information about pending litigation but said it remains focused on  "supporting our students and their families as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times."