Like any campus approaching the end of a school year, Robb Elementary was abuzz with excitement and anticipation.
Until Tuesday, Uvalde’s brush with the national spotlight was largely confined to its most famous resident: John Nance ‘Cactus Jack’ Garner, a one-time Speaker of the House and vice president to Franklin Roosevelt whose resting place is not far from a ribbon of Highway 90 that cuts a well-traveled path between San Antonio and the Mexican border.
Instead, Texas Department of Public Safety chief Steven McCraw said Friday that the local school district's police chief — who had been the on-scene commander during the shooting — waited on reinforcements for more than an hour, a decision that may have cost more young lives and now threatens to fracture public confidence in law enforcement's capacity to guard the community's most vulnerable.
“She was a real happy little girl, always laughing and smiling and playing around,” her grandfather, Alfred Garcia II, told USA TODAY. On Tuesday, after a quick breakfast, she grabbed her new cellphone – a gift for her recent birthday – and got a ride to school from her stepdad on his way to work. “Like always, she asked me for a dollar to get snacks at lunch,” Garza said. “And to turn down the radio. I’m always jamming out, and she gets so embarrassed. So she turned it down to zero before getting out of the car.”
What would set the incident apart, Trinidad learned, was the sudden appeal for help uttered by Celia Gonzales, Ramos' 66-year-old grandmother and a former teacher's aide. Indeed, Abbott later described the gunman as"pure evil," revealing that Ramos had declared his intentions in a chilling series of private social media messages:"I'm going to shoot an elementary school."
The DPS official said Ramos first fired on two bystanders looking on from a nearby funeral home before he scaled a fence on the perimeter of the school property. The DPS official said Ramos, whose motive remains unknown, eventually made his way to adjoining classrooms in the building. He ultimately confronted his victims, discharging more than 100 rounds.As word spread that law enforcement officers were converging on the campus, one source of information for anxious parents and family members were the periodic posts on the Robb Elementary Facebook page that didn’t come close to relaying the horror already underway inside.
Why are the police not in cuffs ?
The only thing they care about is themselves and depleting the population. Belief in something through fear to control power and money.
20 of us is clearly not enough to face this shooter, let’s wait for 20 more………..
Why don’t you Call things as they are!? He was not a “gunman “,he was a terrorist.
Any teenage dude that wears eyeliner is a red flag.
Immediate dismissal and replacement of the entire force with criminal charges laid. Beyond reprehensible!
What a disgraceful display of cowardice and incompetence. I’m sure they thought it’s just a bunch of Mexicans, which is also the reason why it took them so long to respond. The parents admitted that the police is very slow.
Contract police employees aren't issued door busters, shields, Kevlar vests, body cameras, firearms, health insurance & most standard jurisdictional issued tools & equipment as full & part time jurisdiction hires. MSNBC CNN Calex_law OSHA_DOL USDOL TheJusticeDept FBI ACLU
Yes cops f$ked up but the real prob was an 18 year old with people killing guns. Wasn’t it?
wussy cops were waiting for shooter to finish before going in meanwhile…
With no age requirement if you had the money you use to be able to buy a gun from the Sear catalog. Prior to the 90s mass shooting at school did not happen. So why after 220 years has this started? Teaching racism, how to hate America and men can be women morals sink.
They aren't the first police officers to his during a mass shooting. It shows why assault rifles need to be banned.
No, no, no, it's unfettered access to assault weapons, unrestricted purchases of body amour, high capacity ammo clips, weak background checks, no certified fire arms training to obtain a weapon, and weak 'red flag' legislation.
'back the blue' No
karlahandley7 UvaldePoliceCowards