Back when I was in high school, security of the (small town) school was also assumed by some of the students, many of whom carried or had guns in their cars. We had once incident where we learned that a student had trashed the property of one of the coaches and threatened to do him harm. A group of students, mostly members of the football team, had a "come to Jesus" meeting with him and kicked his ass halfway across town. Then, when he'd had enough, we brought him back into the fold and gave him support. He turned out OK. The nice thing about a small town, where everyone pretty much knows everyone else and what's going on, is that troubled children were generally identified early and corrective measures taken by some combination of parental, police, peer and/or teacher pressure.
And it just gets more troubling. Angeli Rose Gomez told The Wall Street Journal she was handcuffed by U.S. marshals outside the school for repeatedly demanding police enter the school. “The police were doing nothing,” she said to the paper. “They were just standing outside the fence. They weren’t going in there or running anywhere.” US Marshalls deny arresting her but don't deny handcuffing her. What a sad day when a parent wants to save their child and US Marshalls stand around calling it an investigation. No, you fools, it is an active crime scene that needs quick action, the investigation comes later.
Ok, we are very, very much advocates for law enforcement. When law enforcement states it's safe to go in, then people can go in. I mean, what do we want, a parent killed and laying right next to their dead child? Come on public, common sense rules here, but........ Investigations take time, but, unfortunately, the public can get very inpatient. They want the "why?" now, and that takes time. Actually, a former CIA Counterterrorist Agent, along with a retired LAPD Sgt. said that way to much talk/speculation is going on with both the parents and the public.
Not when law enforcement are being criticized a whole lot. Bottom Line, Ken, none of us were there to see exactly what happened, but many in the forum are coming up with their own conclusions. Without proper investigation, nobody should be criticizing anyone. That's what both the form CIA Agent and retired LAPD Sgt. said.
I think law officers are in need of some serious re-training both in terms of (1) identifying and dealing with potential shooters and (2) dealing with an active shooting scene where additional lives are at risk.
Two points: First, I think the outcome speaks for itself (i.e., it was bad in the worst possible way) and begs for critique. Second, failure to critique/criticize events like this is what can lead to societal breakdown and totalitarianism. Too bad more Germans didn't criticize the Stadtspolizei back in the day. Bottom Line: Police actions should always be subject to critique!
We know what we can see and hear on varified authentic videos. I refuse to wait for an investigation that can very well be tainted when the evidence is documented and it is clear that police and other law enforcement were standing around with firearms holstered at a safe distance from the school. An hour passed while wounded children covered themselves in blood and played dead. Two teachers gave their own lives to shield the kids. I am all for supporting law enforcement, but not a bunch of wimps that stood around analyzing an active situation, calling it an investagation. It was only when a BORDER PATROL arrived and took action that this hour of sheer terror was stopped.
Given that law enforcement investigates themselves, with a long history of absolving themselves of any responsibility, it is critical that there be public oversight and, in the absence of a responsible media, this may indeed include speculation, although eyewitness reports or video are surely valid resources. I think most of us realize that speculation may turn out to be something other than the truth, but the same can be said of media reports, especially early on. I don't mean to say that the police, as a whole, are not to be trusted, as many of them can and are both honest and responsible. However, if they screwed up in a high-profile situation like this, it doesn't take a lot of thinking to consider that they might want to closely control the available information.
An hour passed Cody! Innocent kids were bleeding out. What did law enforcement have to discuss? In any emergency situation like this, more than a few moments of hesitation is costly in lives as it was in Uvalde. We didn't have a hostage situation with demands being made, we had a killer that had already shot at humans before entering the school. Time is of the essence as any emergency responder will tell you. Again I repeat there was NO indication of a hostage situation. Shots were fired in an elementary school. Does that sound like a negotiable hostage situation? Hell no, it was evident it was a crazed killer shooting elementary-age kids. Evidence? It was an elementary school (documented) and shots were fired and calls were received at 911 from at least one kid (documented) that many had been shot and blood was everywhere. What kind of evidence do you think law enforcement needed, Cody? Should the wounded and bleeding kid risk their life by trying to take photos and send them to 911?
I heard this morning that a teacher had propped the school door open. What the...???? So perhaps the doors were SUPPOSED to be closed/locked.
This is just unbelievable the ignorant and incomprehensible actions of the school staff and law enforcement. The two teachers that died shielding the kids are the only ones worthy of mention and the Border patrol that killed the shooter is the only law officer worthy of wearing a badge. The rest should hang their heads in shame. I think the autopsies will even reveal more horrible suffering before death that could have been avoided. I don't know how so many adults in an authority situation could make so many bad decisions.