Fiona O’Hara
The police response to the mass shooting at Uvalde elementary school, which killed nineteen children and two teachers, will be investigated by the US Department of Justice.
The shooting, which took place on 24th May, saw eighteen-year-old Salvador Ramos shoot his grandmother before travelling to Robb Elementary School where he opened fire on a fourth-grade class.
The police response to the incident has come under fire as Ramos barricaded himself in the classroom whilst dozens of police officers waited in the hallway outside. Officers only entered the classroom after 40 minutes, as they did not believe it was still an “active shooter” situation, said Steven McCraw, director for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“Footage showed parents handcuffed and threatened with tasers while trying to find their children”
This explanation is contradicted by the disclosure that at least four different calls to emergency services were made from within the school during the shooting. Some of these calls were made by the children who were trapped in the classroom with the gunman.
Further criticism came when videos released on social media showed distressed parents restrained by police while attempting to enter the school. Footage showed parents handcuffed and threatened with tasers while trying to find their children.
These revelations come after the police struggled to give a clear timeline of how the shooting unfolded, which ended when a State Trooper shot and killed the gunman.
The US Department of Justice has stated that its goal is to “provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day,” and that they aim to identify “best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events.”
“speakers at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention have openly resisted any call to introduce gun restrictions”
This incident is the most recent mass shooting to occur in the US, with the total number of mass shootings already surpassing 200 since the beginning of 2022. It has galvanised growing public support for more comprehensive gun control laws to be enacted in the US.
Despite this, speakers at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention have openly resisted any call to introduce gun restrictions. Republican senator and avid pro-gun advocate Ted Cruz placed the blame on “broken families, absent fathers, declining church attendance, social media bullying, violent online content,” and other societal issues.
.@SenTedCruz: “The events of this week demand that we see where our culture is failing – looking at broken families, absent fathers, declining church attendance, social media bullying, violent online content, desensitizing the act of murder in video games, chronic isolation.” pic.twitter.com/XoXUlXlZcA
— The Hill (@thehill) May 28, 2022
Before the convention, Cruz was confronted in a restaurant by a constituent. Footage shows the man shouting “Nineteen children died! That’s on your hands!”, before being restrained by Cruz’s security.
Featured Image courtesy of ArtisticOperations via Pixabay. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Fiona O'Hara
Fiona is a Sports Editor for Empoword Journalism. She is a recent graduate of The University of Glasgow and has since contributed to The National and The Herald. While her main love is Rugby, Fiona is passionate about a multitude of sports and particularly championing women's sport.