An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at the elementary school in the small Texas town on Tuesday. The attacker locked himself in with students and teachers in two connected classrooms and shot around there.
Biden traveled to Uvalde with his wife Jill on Sunday. In front of the elementary school, the President and First Lady laid a bouquet of flowers at an impromptu memorial with flowers, toys and photos of those killed. They ran individually from picture to picture, touching the photos of the victims. They then attended a church service in the church. Later they wanted to meet relatives of the victims and survivors.
Police officers were waiting in the hallway in front of the classroom
What investigators have so far reconstructed on the basis of video recordings, witness statements, police communication and emergency calls is shocking. The shooter entered the elementary school and the classroom shortly after 11:30 a.m. local time and started shooting. A few minutes later the first police officers were in front of the classroom. Other officials followed. Just after 12:00 p.m. local time, 19 police officers were stationed in the corridor outside the classroom.
Around the same time, students from inside the room began dialing 911 police in desperation, officials said. Among them was a student who called several times in a row. In a whisper, she first reported several deaths. In another call, she said a little later that eight to nine students were still alive. Still no help came. 40 minutes after the first call, the girl begged for the police to be called immediately.
Report on Biden visit to Texas
ORF correspondent Christophe Kohl reports on US President Joe Biden’s visit to Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 21 people in a school.
Waiting for key
Meanwhile, the police outside the door were waiting for reinforcements, as the Texas Public Safety Authority revealed on Friday. The officer responsible was of the opinion that after the first shots were fired, no more children were in danger. Now that’s causing bewilderment. It was not until 12:50 p.m. that emergency services entered the room – with a key that they had obtained from the caretaker – and killed the gunman. More than 75 minutes after he opened fire inside. Meanwhile, the attacker wiped out 21 lives. 17 other people were injured.
Serious allegations
In view of the new findings, relatives raised serious allegations against the police. “They could have saved some lives,” the Washington Post quoted the grandfather of a killed student as saying. “You could have saved her,” he said, looking at his granddaughter. The father of a child who was killed also told CNN that his daughter might still be alive if the police had acted differently. Another student’s mother lamented, “You waited too long.”
Funeral service after shooting in Texas
After a rampage in Texas, US President Joe Biden visited the elementary school where 21 people died. At the funeral service in the municipality of Uvalde, he and his wife remembered the victims. The grief is mixed with more and more anger: the police waited far too long in front of the classroom where the shooter shot children.
Ministry of Justice takes action
The Justice Department in Washington announced on Sunday an investigation into police actions. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin asked for it. The aim is to create an independent report on the actions of the law enforcement authorities on that day and to draw lessons for other attacks. The report should also be published at the end.
Democrat Roland Gutierrez of the Texas Senate also complained that mistakes in the operation could have cost lives. “In the end, everyone here failed,” the Democrat told CNN on Sunday. That also applies to the Texas parliament, which has not enforced stricter gun laws.
Weapons debate goes in circles
The Uvalde bloody deed has once again fueled the debate about tightening gun laws in the United States. Many Republicans have been opposed to stricter regulations for years. Republican ex-president Donald Trump also defended the lax gun laws in many places in the USA in an appearance before the powerful gun lobby NRA (National Rifle Association) on Friday and instead called for more armed security forces to be posted in schools and teachers to be armed. The NRA meeting in Houston, Texas was accompanied by protests against gun violence and the gun lobby. The United States has long struggled with gun violence on an enormous scale.