Uvalde, Texas Mayor Cody Smith resigned effective immediately this week, nearly two years after a deadly school shooting and weeks after the release of a controversial report that cleared the city’s police of any wrongdoing during the massacre.
In a statement released Monday, Smith thanked the community for supporting him while he recovered from “unexpected health issues.”
“I want to thank members of the Uvalde community for their thoughts and prayers during my ongoing recovery from unexpected medical issues I have experienced in recent weeks,” he said. “After much consultation and prayer, I have decided to resign as Mayor of the City of Uvalde to focus on my health. It has been a great honor to serve the city and community I love.”
Smith’s resignation comes after an independent report commissioned by the city defended the actions of local police during the response to the May 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School. Uvalde City Council members had been expected to meet Tuesday to discuss the report in a private session.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the massacre while police from a number local, state and federal law enforcement agencies spent more than an hour before storming the school and killing the gunman, who was armed with an AR-15 style weapon.
Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez previously announced he was stepping down after the independent report was released, angering the victims’ families.
The report, written by private investigator and ex-Austin police detective Jesse Prado, ran contrary to many others about the shooting, including a scathing 2024 Department of Justice report which pointed to “cascading failures” by officers on the scene as well as the cowardice of waiting more than an hour to confront the shooter.
Mayor Pro-Tem Everardo Zamora will step in for Smith until a Nov. 5 election, according to KATC.
With News Wire Services
