Washington, D.C. residents pay tribute to victims of Uvalde school shooting

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of residents in northwest Washington, D.C. on Sunday paid tribute to victims of the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Organizers displayed 21 empty chairs standing for 19 children and two teachers killed in the Uvalde shootout on a lawn outside a local church.

A lady read their names one by one, echoed by residents attending the memorial at noon.

U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden traveled to Uvalde on Sunday to meet with families of the victims and survivors of the massacre.

They also visited a memorial constructed outside Robb Elementary School -- the site of the horrific shooting that occurred on Tuesday.

A Texas official told reporters on Friday that local police made the "wrong decision" by waiting nearly an hour to breach the school classroom where 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos took shots at children and teachers before he was neutralized by law enforcement.

Nearly 20 officers stood outside the classroom during the attack and the on-scene commander believed at the time that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were no longer at risk, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw.

"From the benefit of hindsight, where I'm sitting now, of course, it was not the right decision," McCraw said of the commander's decision to wait for tactical teams to arrive to storm the classroom. "It was the wrong decision, period."

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Sunday that it "will conduct a Critical Incident Review of the law enforcement response to the mass shooting in Uvalde."

"The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events," spokesman Anthony Coley said in a statement.

"As with prior Justice Department after-action reviews of mass shootings and other critical incidents, this assessment will be fair, transparent, and independent," Coley added. "The Justice Department will publish a report with its findings at the conclusion of its review."

The United States has seen several mass shootings across the nation over the past few weeks as summer -- typically more violent than other seasons -- is approaching.