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Uvalde City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a settlement agreement with families impacted by the 2022 Robb Elementary school shooting.
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the shooting.
Council members discussed the settlement in a closed session. No details were released.
Uvalde Mayor Hector Luevano spoke after the vote: "Today's agreement marks an important step forward in advancing community healing and ensuring our city forever honors the lives we tragically lost and supporting all surviving victims."
The approval came one year after attorneys for the victims' families announced the $2 million settlement with the city.
That lawsuit named the then Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police chief Pete Arredondo — who was supposed to be the incident commander that day — and then-Robb Elementary School principal Mandy Gutierrez.
Families also sued Uvalde County and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Attorneys said last year the settlement with the city included efforts to rebuild the Uvalde Police Department and to establish May 24 as an annual day of remembrance, to design a permanent downtown memorial, and to continue mental health support services for the community.
Josh Koskoff, the attorney for the victims' families, said in a statement on Tuesday that “No community is truly equipped to deal with the abject horror and heartbreaking aftermath of a mass shooting carried out with an AR-15. Still, 376 law enforcement officers failed to follow even basic protocols at Robb Elementary that could have saved lives."
He added: "Faced with a difficult decision, these families worked with the community they love to make things right without creating deeper economic hardship. The road to healing is long and painful, but we are hopeful that this agreement enables families who lost so much and the city they call home to continue that process."
The city council's action came only weeks after the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation secured the $60 million needed to build Legacy Elementary School, which will replace Robb Elementary School.
Funds came from a federal program designed to encourage private investments in underserved areas, donations and other means. Legacy was expected to open in the fall.
