The Uvalde, Texas school district has been subjected to strong criticism since the May 24 massacre at the Robb Elementary School in which 21 people were killed by 18-year-old Salvador Ramos. Amid this barrage of criticism, the school district has decided to suspend its entire police force, the body revealed in a statement.

The statement released by the district reads, “The District has made the decision to suspend all activities of the Uvalde CISD Police Department for a period of time. Officers currently employed will fill other roles in the district”.

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The school district Superintendent, Hal Harrell, has chosen to retire following the announcement. The statement also mentions that Lt. Miguel Hernandez and Ken Mueller have been placed on administrative leaves, and that Mueller has also chosen to retire.

The statement further reads, “The District has requested the Texas Department of Public Safety to provide additional troopers for campus and extra-curricular activities”, adding, “We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition.”

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The district further said that this decision was made after “recent developments” “uncovered additional concerns with department operations.”

Crimson Elizondo, who was hired as the new Uvalde school officer, is currently under investigation for her role while responding to the May 24 massacre, CNN has reported. Later, the school district announced that Elizondo’s employment as the school officer was being terminated.

A number of members of the massacre victim’s families, who were holding a vigil around the clock right outside the headquarters of the Uvalde school district, have praised the police department’s decision. After the announcement, Brett Cross, a guardian of one of the victims, wrote on Twitter, “245 hr update!!! We did it! And we are going home!”

Cross also shared a picture of the announcement that was sent out by the school district. Check out the thread right here:

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ABC News spoke to one of the parents of the victims, who said, “They don’t know how to hire people, they don’t know how to vet officers”, further adding, “They haven’t provided proper training.” She said that the announcement of the police force’s suspension was “what we’ve been asking for — it’s more than we’ve been asking for”.