For over 48 hours, families of victims of the Uvalde massacre protested outside the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District headquarters to call for an investigation into the campus police response at Robb Elementary on May 24.
Since the killings, which left 19 students and two teachers dead, reports have confirmed that 376 law enforcement officers waited for 77 minutes before entering the classroom.
Families are demanding the district investigate the five school resource officers working on May 24 and suspend them for their inaction.
9-year-old victim Uziyah Garcia’s father, Brett Cross, sheltered outside the headquarters and spoke with UCISD Superintendent Hal Harrell Thursday morning.
“Just like the city and like the sheriff’s office, I need those officers,” Harrell told Cross.
At the end of the clip, Cross said, “well, ladies and gentlemen, as y’all saw, he don’t give a shit, so we’ll still be here.”
After the massacre in Uvalde, parents like Cross asked Governor Greg Abbott to call a special legislative session to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to buy an assault rifle.
Abbott and Texas Republicans have refused.
Abbott, who has an A plus rating from the National Rifle Association, said passing this legislation would be “unconstitutional.” But in reality, states across the country, including California, New York, New Jersey, and more, have passed legislation to ban all assault weapons.
Recently, Senator Ted Cruz, who also has an A plus rating with the NRA, met with the parents of 9-year-old Uvalde victim Lexi Rubio, who requested he supports a federal ban on assault rifles.
Cruz also declined and said he wants more police presence on school campuses.
According to a recent poll, 71 percent of Texans support raising the minimum age to buy an assault rifle, and 78 percent of Texans support requiring background checks on all gun purchases.
Victims of the families will be joining Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto’ Rourke in Edinburg on Friday in a pre-debate press conference.
“The families are now traveling to the debate in Edinburg to take their message directly to the governor, make their voices heard, and demand that Abbott finally take action so that no more Texas families have to go through what they have experienced,” O’Rourke’s team wrote in a statement.
Kennedy is a recent graduate of the University of St.Thomas in Houston where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Celt Independent. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. She does everything from covering crime beats, Texas politics, and community activism. Kennedy is a passionate reporter, avid reader, coffee enthusiast, and loves to travel.
