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Videos Show Anguished Texas Shooting Onlookers Confronting Police For Not Charging Into School
Every time there is a school shooting, Republicans make the same claim—the best solution is more "good guys with guns," such as armed security personnel in schools.
The aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas shooting—the deadliest in 10 years—is no exception.
But the difference this time is Robb Elementary in Uvalde did have "good guys with guns" on the scene—and viral video reveals many of the law enforcement officers who responded refrained from intervening for a shocking length of time.
Now questions are piling up for the various law enforcement agencies involved as viral videos like the one below show law enforcement officers using force to control terrorized bystanders and parents pleading with them to intervene.
WARNING: NSFW language
*BREAKING* Robb Elementary School shooting. Uvalde Texas. This video shows the chaos outside of the school where parents were trying to find their children.#Uvalde #RobbElementary #SchoolShooting pic.twitter.com/yx97i6Bh9w
— TheFamily'sSoup TV (@FamilysSoupTV) May 25, 2022
The viral clip comes from a longer Facebook Live video posted by Angel Ledezma, an uncle of a child inside Robb Elementary.
In it, Ledezma narrates the aggression toward parents and inaction on the part of law enforcement.
“There’s a fu*king shooting at the school and these fu*king cops are telling everybody to leave while everybody’s here to pick up their fu*king kids.
"They’re all just fu*king parked and outside. They need to go in there. The cops ain’t doing sh*t."
Details have emerged from the incident which show the shooter was able to remain inside Robb Elementary for over an hour.
In another incident captured in Ledezma's video, an officer was seen shoving and berating a desperate parent whose child was inside while others screamed at him to do something.
Ledezma can be heard telling the officer:
"You know that they are kids, right? They’re little kids. They don’t know how to defend themselves."
"They’re six-year-old kids in there. They don’t know how to defend themselves from a shooter."
Despite the video evidence, the Texas Department of Public Safety continued to assert a different version of events.
They say they went in immediately and quickly barricaded the gunman in a classroom as soon as they were able.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw confirmed 40 minutes to an hour elapsed before the gunman was subdued but was careful to clarify law enforcement engaged far sooner than that.
He told the assembled press:
“The bottom line is law enforcement was there. They did engage immediately. They did contain [the gunman] in the classroom.”
That account differs greatly from the videos as well as statements from law enforcement and the Border Control agents who eventually shot the gunman, one of whom said anonymously the gunman barricaded himself in the classroom and Border Control had to ask a school staff member to unlock it with a key.
DPS Director Steve McGraw said twice that the cops were the ones who barricaded the shooter into a classroom.
That contradicts previous statements by other DPS spox, who said the gunman barricaded himself and immediately began shooting kids. https://t.co/OZO4JOJcwk
— Tess Owen (@misstessowen) May 25, 2022
A parent of one of the slain children summed up law enforcement's response as "unprepared"—so much so that he and other parents discussed storming into the school themselves because law enforcement seemed unwilling to do so.
At least one parent ended up doing so—after she was let out of the handcuffs law enforcement put her in for pleading with them to intervene.
A mom of two children at Uvalde was put in handcuffs after urging police and law enforcement to enter the school.
Once freed from her cuffs, she jumped the school fence, ran inside and sprinted out with her kids.
New from @WSJ: https://t.co/SYdgysw0gF pic.twitter.com/ZCadllw9aT
— Megan Menchaca (@meganmmenchaca) May 26, 2022
She successfully found her children and removed them from the school.
On Twitter, people found the response and lack of transparency enraging.
“Parents trying to save their kids from an active shooter? NOT ON OUR WATCH.” https://t.co/6Qqw6t6Gho pic.twitter.com/LAWEE1PM9V
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) May 26, 2022
Not just 5 minutes. Not 10. Not 30.
One whole damn hour!
I am just going to say it: the Uvalde local police are cowards and failed to protect these children. They should be held accountable. They are no heroes. pic.twitter.com/M6g8ecf7ib
— Jo Kaur (@SikhFeminist) May 25, 2022
JESUS CHRIST “When her brother Angel, who is Amerie’s stepfather, learned from a fleeing child that a girl named Amerie had been shot inside, he ran to try and reach his daughter but was handcuffed by a local police officer”
https://t.co/fZJSeLbssD pic.twitter.com/fp7M3S1PkP
— Caity Weaver (@caityweaver) May 26, 2022
This is where Uvalde police were; outside the school, performing crowd control, tazing parents. https://t.co/BDjJxe0gT2
— GPG (@gpgmd) May 26, 2022
40% of Uvalde’s city budget goes to police. The school district had its own police force. This is what happened ⬇️
After decades of mass shootings, there is still 0 evidence that police have the ability to stop them from happening. Gun safety and other policies can. https://t.co/PqlWxdKpYu
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 26, 2022
As an investigator for 15 years I want to highlight for the media that there are SIGNIFICANT inconsistencies in the story being told by the Uvalde Police Dept about the response time and the timeline of the shooting.
Story keeps changing.
This should be thoroughly investigated.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) May 26, 2022
What is all of that tactical gear and expensive weaponry even for, if not to use in this exact situation?
— M N (@mthenadal) May 26, 2022
I am v eager to read the accountability stories of how the Uvalde police managed to handcuff a father, threaten other parents w tasers... but utterly fail to apprehend the shooter until after he'd murdered 19 children...and then mislead the public about it.
— Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) May 26, 2022
So police in Uvalde not only failed to go into the school to save the children, they pepper sprayed, tackled, and tazed parents who wanted to rescue their own kids. Still, this brave mom went in and got her kids anyway
What do police do exactly? It's not protecting or serving https://t.co/cVVW2Mo3u0
— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) May 26, 2022
Just to be clear, there is a cover up by both Uvalde police and its Mayor about the hour delayed response to the mass shooting. The lying is the first sign.
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) May 26, 2022
An investigation into law enforcement's response in Uvalde was launched Thursday.