18-year-old Salvador Ramos is accused of shooting his grandmother in the face on Tuesday. Then, he went to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, killing 19 kids and two teachers.
This horrific act stunned the community and outraged Americans across the country. It’s also inflamed the debate over the Second Amendment and potential gun restrictions.
However, extremely disturbing reports are now emerging about the police response as the shooting unfolded.
What Did Uvalde Cops Do?
According to witnesses, police were paralyzed for 40 minutes while the gunman carried out a mass shooting at the elementary school. Parents demanded they do something. Police refused to act and stood there, huddling to decide what action they would take.
In the midst of the despair and horror, the tension only increased. Imagine you heard gunshots inside a school where your children were. Imagine you were told by authorities they couldn’t do anything at this time until a tactical team arrived or they had a plan of attack.
Kids were literally dying while they planned. Some parents reportedly got so frustrated they suggested storming the school themselves with their weapons, but were prevented by police.
One of the witnesses is a man named Javier Cazares. He said as soon as he heard about the shooting, he ran to the school. When he got there, he saw the cops focused and alert, but doing nothing.
He considered the idea of teaming up with people outside to break into the school and do something, since the police were not doing anything. Unfortunately, Jaklyn Cazares, Cazares’ daughter Jakyln was killed during the horrific attack.
The massacre at the Uvalde elementary school lasted at least 40 minutes — and witnesses shouted at police to go into the school after the gunman, but officers did not do so initially, the AP reported.
One man suggested civilians charge the school instead.https://t.co/Yx6TghgboQ
— NPR (@NPR) May 26, 2022
The Police Weren’t Ready
According to Cazares, the police were not prepared. They remained catatonic for a long time without taking any action.
Another witness to the Robb Elementary School attack was Juan Carranza. He said minutes earlier, he witnessed the gunman crash his vehicle near the school, leave carrying a rifle, and then shoot two people who were unarmed.
After that, he saw the gunman break a window and enter the school.
According to authorities, the gunman confronted a school security guard outside the school. Then, after entering the school, he shot two police officers who were on the outside and they were injured.
In an interview, Lt. Chistopher Olivarez said the gunman barricaded himself at the door of a classroom; this way, no one could get out. Then, he began shooting all the kids and teachers inside.
For Olivarez, this demonstrates the monstrosity and coldness of the shooter.
It’s clear that at least some authorities did try to stop the gunman, but responding officers were not ready or adequately armed to take on this monster inside.
The weapons used in the massacre were legally purchased by Salvador on his 18th birthday; although the legality of the handgun is in question.
He bought two rifles and posted a photo on his Instagram profile, but police claim he also used a revolver to shoot. Ramos even left warnings on Facebook about what he would do.
I thought that with an active shooter the police are supposed to enter the building to stop him?
Instead, it sounds like they stayed outside while the gunman shot kids for 40 plus minutes.
Probably still too soon to know exactly what happened just yet.https://t.co/txr3Aa3vpY
— Jeff Harris (@TheVotersSay) May 26, 2022
