Fatality Management in Rural Areas How One Justice of the Peace Oversaw the Uvalde School Shooting

Across the U.S., Justices of the Peace have multiple duties, including presiding over landlord and tenant disputes, truancy cases, and small civil cases. In Texas, while roles vary by county, Justices of the Peace also perform magistrate duties and conduct inquests into cause of death. ASPR TRACIE met with Judge Eulalio "Lalo" Diaz, Jr. to learn more about his experience as the on-call coroner on May 24th, 2022, when a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers and injured 17 others in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Dr. Kimberly Molina, Bexar County’s Chief Medical Examiner, also shared some lessons learned following their experience with the school shooting, an incident involving 53 immigrants who died in an 18-wheeler, and the COVID-19 pandemic.