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One day after a primary school gunman killed 21 people in a small Texas town this week, Gov. Greg Abbott appeared before a grieving nation to explain how it happened, presenting an authoritative account of law enforcement heroes facing evil and preventing the additional loss of life with quick action.
But much of this story was not true.
Abbott returned to Uwalde, Texas, on Friday to acknowledge that key parts of what he said to the country had been refuted by the ongoing criminal investigation, and to pin the mistakes on law enforcement officials who informed him in Wednesday.
“I was on this stage two days ago telling the public information I was told,” the Republican said, his voice rising at times with anger. “As everyone understood, the information provided to me turned out to be partly inaccurate. And I’m absolutely angry about that. “
The dramatic onset came with growing grief among grieving families due to law enforcement response. It also happened when Abbott, the most visible envoy in the days after the massacre, faced growing criticism that he had moved too fast to spread a false account from law enforcement that was in line with his own political beliefs.
Federal authorities were “amazed by the amateur communications coming from Texas,” said a federal law enforcement official who, among others, spoke on condition of anonymity to address sensitive issues related to the shooting.
State Democrats have begun calling on the FBI to play a greater role in reviewing events, while raising questions about Abbott’s decision to release unverified information. Abbott is ahead of opinion polls for his re-election this year and is increasingly seen as a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
“If I were governor when you have something so terrible that affects so many lives, I would like to make sure that my information is solid,” said State Representative Richard Rayman, chairman of the Democrats’ committee overseeing the Texas Department of War. works in close cooperation with the Ministry of Public Safety. “You can’t touch this one.”
Abbott has extensive experience in such situations. Since being elected governor in 2014, the governor has overseen the state’s response to mass shootings that have killed more than 90 people, including attacks on a church in Sutherland Springs, Santa Fe High School, Walmart in El Paso and street shootings. Odessa, Midland and Dallas.
Abbott supported increasing training and funding for school security in response, but opposed efforts to impose greater restrictions on gun ownership and use. Instead, he called for a relaxation of gun regulations by signing a 2015 law that allows concealed pistols in university gardens and a 2021 law that allows Texans to carry concealed pistols without a license or training.
Last year, he signed other laws that allow gun owners to store firearms in hotel rooms, hold silencers and carry guns outside a shoulder or belt holster. He also banned the government from cutting arms sales during disasters and emergencies.
After Tuesday’s shooting, he showed no signs of reconsidering any of those positions.
“Let’s make one thing clear,” he said Friday. “None of the laws I signed at the last session have stopped this crime at all.
The abbot was in Abilene on Tuesday afternoon, providing up-to-date information on forest fires burning his eastern state when he was first asked about reports of a school shooting four hours south of Uwalde.
Lawmakers who surrounded him at a news conference had seen only brief snippets of their phones – chaos in a primary school, more than a dozen children killed. But the governor spoke confidently of what had happened, identifying the shooter and declaring him dead.
The abbot looked burdened after his speeches in Abilene, recalled State Senator Charles Perry, a fellow Republican who joined him at his press conference. When the press conference ended, Perry asked him, “Are you doing well?”
“Hard day,” was his response, the MP recalled.
But the governor’s day was far from over. Before returning to Austin, he focused on fundraising in Walker County, north of Houston, a move that former aides and Republican operatives said puzzled. One said he feared fundraising was the reason the governor did not go directly to Uwalde on Tuesday night, but was “shocked” to learn he was right.
Fundraiser Jeff Bradley confirmed in a text message that he was hosting the governor, who was there “for a very short time due to the Uwalde crisis” and said he did not know how much the event had gathered.
A spokesman for Abbott’s campaign said further political work had been postponed, and the governor, answering a question about fundraising, told reporters that he “stopped and informed people that I could not stay, that I should go and I want you to know what happened and return to Austin so I can continue to work with Texas law enforcement.
Abbott also spoke Tuesday night with President Biden, who offered “all kinds of help,” according to the White House.
On Wednesday, he traveled to Uwalde, where he appeared with law enforcement and other senior government officials, as well as federal and state lawmakers, to provide details on how the shooting unfolded. The press conference attracted headlines mainly because it was interrupted by Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat and former congressman from Texas who is fighting against Abbot for governor.
Abbott’s mission was not to debate, he said, but to clear up misconceptions about the shooting. “Let me tell you some of the best information we have at the moment,” he said, stressing that the investigation is still ongoing.
He paid special attention to the heroism of the police.
“As horrible as it was, it could have been worse,” Abbott said. “The reason is not worse is that law enforcement officers have done what they do. They showed incredible courage, running to shoot for the sole purpose of trying to save lives. “
Most importantly, he said school officials “approached the shooter and contacted the shooter.” The story reflects government statements, some of which said officers exchanged fire with the armed man.
But on Thursday, government officials made it clear that officers did not deal with the shooter outside the school and that a school district police officer was not on campus at the time. The abbot kept quiet, huddled with assistants in Austin. On Twitter, he shared images from a briefing with government agencies and promised to “provide every government resource to help the families of victims, teachers and the Uvalde community as they work to heal.”
And on Friday, Stephen McCrow, director of public safety, went back to his original reports, admitting that a local commander of the incident had made the “wrong decision” by delaying officers from entering the classroom with the shooter. , believing that he had moved from “active shooter” to “barricaded object”.
For nearly 50 minutes, children inside called 911 to ask for help from the active shooter as officers waited in front of a pair of classrooms, McCrow admitted for the first time on Friday.
A spokesman for Abbott did not respond to a request for comment on where he received his information and how he verified it.
Abbott canceled a planned appearance at a meeting of the National Weapons Association in Houston on Friday in favor of pre-recorded remarks, rejecting the idea that more gun regulations would prevent atrocities.
“There are thousands of laws in books across the country that restrict the possession or use of firearms, laws that keep insane people from doing evil to innocent people in peaceful communities,” he told the gun rights group.
Later in Uwalde, he immediately refused to convene a special legislative session to develop solutions that could quell gun violence, while saying he wanted a comprehensive review of state legislation, especially on safety and health at school.
“Let me clarify one thing. The status quo is unacceptable, “he said.” This crime is unacceptable. “
Representative Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.) Said inconsistent statements by state leaders and law enforcement had “shaken Texas’ confidence in the state government and the governor.”
The congressman also accused Abbott of making the country less secure as mass shootings piled up. “He made the country more dangerous by making it easier for dangerous people to acquire weapons,” Castro said.
On Friday, calls for a legislative response went bipartisan, with Republican Sen. Kel Seliger urging Abbott to “call us to special sessions until we do SOMETHING.”
Former associates said the Austin compromise window has narrowed, especially ahead of the November election. And they said calling MPs back to Austin just to useless talks could hurt Abbott.
Wayne Hamilton, who led Abbott’s campaign in 2014, said he expects the governor, who used a wheelchair after an incident in the 1980s, to take some time before responding to calls for new legislation.
“As a person who has experienced a personal tragedy, he is very much in tune and focused on being with injured people, and that is what you will see him do in the near future,” Hamilton said. “You will not make him talk about political and political things.
Following the shooting in Santa Fe in 2018, he asked the legislature to study a new law with a red flag that would “identify those who intend to commit violence with firearms” and allow the state to take the weapons out of their possession. But the proposal has met with backlash, including from …
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