Uvalde school fails safety inspection just 7 months after mass shooting

A safety inspector posing as an intruder was able to access a school cafeteria in Uvalde, Texas, through an improperly locked door, the school district's superintendent said Monday.

The failed inspection comes half a year after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde through a door that was supposed to be locked, killing 19 children and two teachers.

Interim Uvalde superintendent Gary Patterson told an incredulous crowd of parents during a board meeting that the inspections had taken place at multiple schools in December as part of an ongoing safety audit. The audits were part of a statewide program initiated by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) following the shooting this past May.

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The inspectors tested three schools in the Uvalde district, though the names of those tested were not divulged. While two of the schools passed, an inspector was able to enter the third through a door in the school's loading dock that was left ajar while a delivery was in progress.

The fake intruder was able to make it to the school's cafeteria, which was empty at the time, before being stopped by school staff members.

"That really is 100 percent my responsibility to see that didn't happen," Patterson said, per CNN. "The delivery of goods into loading docks was just something, quite honestly, that I overlooked. But I won't overlook it next time."

The failed inspection comes even as the school district has reportedly spent millions shoring up its security protocols in the seven months since the Robb Elementary massacre.