On May 24, 2022, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos fatally shot 19 students and two teachers with an AR-15 rifle at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.[1] Police were present during the shooting but did not attempt to stop Ramos for over an hour after entering the building.[2]
Background
Before the school shooting, Ramos shot his grandmother and stole her truck. He crashed the truck near the school at 11:28 a.m. and entered the school five minutes later. By this point, at least three people had called the police.[2]
Police response
Armed police wearing body armor entered the building about three minutes after the shooter.[2] 376 police officers were present at or near the school during the shooting but failed to stop the shooter.[3] Police waited outside the classroom where the shooter was located for 74 minutes. They did not try to open the door to the classroom and checked their phones while children screamed inside. By 11:51 a.m., heavily armed Border Patrol agents and over a dozen police had entered the building.[2] Police prevented parents from entering the school to save their children.[3]
Reactions
Texas Governor Greg Abbott defended the police and claimed that they showed amazing courage.[2]
References
- ↑ Niles Niemuth (2022-05-25). "The Uvalde massacre and the tragedy of school shootings in America" World Socialist Web Site. Archived from the original on 2022-07-10. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Jacob Crosse (2022-07-12). "Security footage released from inside Uvalde, Texas, school confirms police ran away from gunfire, loitered in hallway" World Socialist Web Site. Archived from the original on 2022-07-16. Retrieved 2022-07-18.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "PSL editorial: Uvalde catastrophe shows that cops do not keep us safe" (2022-07-18). Liberation News. Retrieved 2022-07-18.