The Justice Department has said it will review law enforcement’s response to the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas which left 21 people dead.
Last Tuesday, a teenage gunman stormed Robb Elementary School in Uvalde killing 19 children and two teachers in the shooting.
There has been mounting criticism over the police response to the shooting, the worst in the US in a decade.
Anger has been building in the city of Uvalde since the tragedy, and questions remain over why local police waited for nearly an hour to storm the classroom, while the attacker and children were trapped inside.
It has emerged desperate parents begged with police to go in sooner before federal agents arrived and shot 18-year-old Salvador Ramos dead.
Texas state and county authorities say they are conducting their own inquiry into the police response.
Anthony Coley, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said it will conduct a “Critical Incident Review” of law enforcement’s response to the shooting, at the request of Uvalde’s mayor.
Mr Coley said the review would be conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner and that the findings would be made public.
“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,” Mr Coley said.
“The Justice Department will publish a report with its findings at the conclusion of its review,” he added.
Meanwhile, US Prsident Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have travelled to the town to comfort grieving families.
Outside Robb Elementary School, Mr Biden stopped at a memorial of 21 white crosses - one for each of those killed - and the first lady added a bouquet of white flowers to a pile in front of the school sign.
They viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, and the first lady touched the children’s photos as the couple moved along the row.
Later, the president planned to meet privately with family members at a community centre and then with first responders at the airport before returning to Washington, the White House said.
The Uvalde mass school shooting has once again put gun control at the top of the nation’s agenda, months ahead of the November midterm elections.
This weekend, the National Rifle Association has been holding its annual convention in Houston.
On Friday, former US President Donald Trump told the convention that the US should prioritise funding for school security over sending money to Ukraine.
He told the pro-gun meeting that the country “should be building safe schools” before sending military aid sent to Ukraine.
“Before we nation-build the rest of the world, we should be building safe schools for our own children in our own nation,” he said.
The convention has seen protests staged outside as some call for tighter gun controls.
