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Witnesses said that those present called on the police to intervene
Texas State Police are facing angry criticism for the way they handled an elementary school shooting on Tuesday.
Many asked why the police took an hour before clashing with the 18-year-old attacker, Salvador Ramos, who had holed up in a classroom.
Footage on social media showed terrified parents outside the school standing behind a line of police during the incident, and many were heard begging and yelling for the police to intervene.
19 children between the ages of 9 and 10 were killed in the attack, as well as two teachers.
Victor Escalon, a Texas security official, said the attacker was not intercepted by an armed guard, and it was not clear if the school door was locked.
But Escalon defended the police response amid mounting criticism.
Reports quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the police were reluctant to confront the killer at Robb Primary School in Ovaldi.
Escalon said during a news conference on Thursday that initial reports that the gunman had shot a guard were incorrect.
He added that the police entered the school four minutes following the gunman entered.
picture released, EPA
Escalon defended the police response amid mounting criticism for the apparent delay in confronting the gunman
“They didn’t get in right away because they were shot,” Escalon told reporters.
But an hour passed before the gunman was killed in a shootout following the arrival of US Border Patrol tactical teams.
Videos spread showing desperate parents and witnesses urging police to storm the building immediately.
A man whose daughter died in the attack told the Associated Press that he considered running to school with passersby out of frustration at the alleged police inaction.
One mother told the Wall Street Journal that she was briefly handcuffed and accused of obstructing a police investigation, following she and other parents demanded that police storm the building.
Angeli Rose Gomez said she saw one father in hysterics thrown to the ground by police, another pepper-sprayed and a third later tasered.
“The police did nothing. They (the police) were standing outside the fence. They didn’t enter or run anywhere,” said Gomez, who jumped over the school fence and ran inside to save her two children.
picture released, Getty Images
The White House announced that President Joe Biden and the first lady will visit Ovaldi on Sunday.
Students across the United States staged protests once morest gun violence in schools on Thursday.
Leaders of the two largest US teachers’ unions plan to travel to Houston, Texas, this weekend to hold a demonstration outside the annual conference of the National Rifle Association, a pressure group that advocates for gun rights in the country.
picture released, EPA
Activists demonstrated in the wake of the mass shooting at Robb Primary School, calling for action on gun legislation
Police ‘did nothing’
Eyewitnesses reported that members of the public urged the police to intervene during the school shooting. One witness stated that he considered intervening himself.
An eyewitness, Juan Carranza, told the Associated Press that a number of women yelled at the officers, “Go over there.”
But the 24-year-old, who witnessed the incident at Robb’s school in front of his house, said police did not enter the school immediately.
Javier Casares, whose daughter was killed in the attack, told the news agency that he suggested he run with others into the school, because the police “were not doing anything”.
Authorities said the gunman locked himself in a classroom while police struggled to get to him.
Stephen Macro, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference on Wednesday that the gunman remained at the scene for between 40 minutes and an hour, before law enforcement might “contain” him.
Meanwhile, US Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz told CNN that dozens of officers returned fire and “did not hesitate.”
“They entered that semester and acted as quickly as possible,” he added.
Renewed controversy over weapons
The attack in Ovaldi, a small town regarding 129 kilometers from San Antonio, has reignited the debate regarding gun control, as members of the small community try to come to grips with the tragedy.
Many there expressed differing positions on weapons.
Carlos Velasquez, a local resident, told the BBC: “I remember, as a child, my uncles teaching and training me how to carry weapons.”
Many were shocked that Ramos was able to carry out his attack with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
“This kid was only 18 years old,” asked Sandra Barra, who lives across the street from the school. “You have to be 21 to drink. How is that?”
“I hope there will be changes,” she said, referring to Texas gun laws. “I don’t have a weapon, but if I had one, it would be for protection,” she added.
The law allows for the purchase of a firearm at the age of 18 in Texas. According to US media, the attacker bought a gun shortly following his 18th birthday.
Speaking on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said that the idea that a teen would be legally able to purchase weapons that were “designed and marketed to kill is completely wrong.”
“I am sick and tired of what is happening and what will continue in the future,” he said, calling for “action” on gun control.
picture released, EPA
People laying flowers near the school campus in Ovaldi
According to the Texas Policy Project, a think-tank, only 43 percent of Texans support tougher gun laws.
Nationally, that number rises to 53 percent, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey.