The chorus of families from the Uwalde shooting, angry at the authorities’ decision to wait outside the classroom door while their children called 911 for help, continues to grow.
Texas has often been seen as strong, brave and fearless. This week, this person seems to be in question as little more than a suit.
Texas officials admitted on Friday that police made the “wrong decision” by not immediately breaking into the classroom, where Uvaldo shooter Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers.
Ruben Mata Montemayor lost his great-granddaughter Alexandria Rubio in Tuesday’s attack. He heard gunshots ringing down the street. A Vietnam veteran, Ruben has seen his fair share of death and violence. This is not his first rodeo with death. But today he is struggling with tears and trying to reconcile.
“They admitted they were just waiting,” said Mata Montemayor. “How could they do that?” Why did you do it? “
He knows firsthand what it’s like to put yourself in danger for someone else – he had to do it in war.
“You can’t just sit there and listen and watch,” he says. “You have to act and do it fast. Do not wait.”
Alexandria Ania Rubio, one of the victims of the mass shooting at Rob Elementary School in Uwalde.
THE FAMILY OF ALEXANDRIA ANIA RUBIO
People like Mata Montemayor know that the 18-year-old shooter is the biggest culprit in this tragedy. But the inaction and indecision of law enforcement agencies completely outraged him and others.
“They stand there with their hardened faces and walk around the city as if they were some kind of god,” said Uwalde resident Linda Lil. – Well, I guess you’re becoming pretty good actors.
Leel has a son who is in prison in the state of Texas because he just said he would throw a brick in the window of his father-in-law’s car. Now she wonders if her own son could be imprisoned for 18 months on charges of making a terrorist threat, why didn’t they prosecute the shooter?
“I’m not saying my son is right,” Leel said. “But give me a break, are we just choosing who to send to jail?” Obviously. ”
Texas Director of Public Security and Colonel Stephen K. McCrow said police made the wrong call to avoid storming Robb Elementary’s classroom.
CHANDAN KANNA
There were warning signs everywhere about the shooter who carried out this massacre in Uwalde. Police acknowledge that mistakes have been made. It is now even clearer that the shooter had a history of violence and behavioral problems. What was once a world-renowned place, known for its motto “Don’t hang out with Texas,” is fast becoming a laughing stock.
“We are proud people here in Texas,” said Andrea Garcia of nearby Sabinal, Texas. “We support our law enforcement agencies and we love our weapons. We are told to support these two things, no matter what. Do you see how far this takes us? “
Garcia, whose husband is a local contractor, says authorities need to reassess their police priorities.
“They’re more worried about stopping people from crossing that damn border or writing you a ticket for a broken lighthouse than about protecting their community,” Garcia said. “We will go to the ends of the earth to track down a petty criminal, but we will do as little as possible to protect our children. Our priorities here in Texas are simply confused. “
Garcia has a brother who is also in a Texas marijuana prison. He was sentenced to five years in prison for less than 10 ounces of marijuana, a crime punishable by a maximum sentence of two years. Garcia says her brother has not had a previous drug conviction.
“They pulled him up and handcuffed him for more than two hours, then came to my parents’ house and searched his room,” Garcia said. “All the marijuana. You want to tell me they can do this but do nothing for this killer? Here in Texas, we have some very mixed priorities. “
The outrage felt here, Uwalde, is palpable. People ask questions and want answers, but the only thing they get is more and more anger.
Texas has one of the highest levels of imprisonment in the country, most of which are for relatively minor crimes. The state has a long history of using its prison system as a place to house people with mental health problems.
In the 1990s, Texas Gov. Ann Richards of Texas Democrats promised to build more state prisons in the state’s rural areas and use them as tools for what she calls “rural economic development.” Her idea was to build them, hire local Texans, and lock up as many people as possible. A philosophy that Texas Republicans at all levels have since embraced.
Ricky Hernandez was once one of them.
“I worked right on the road to the Torres unit,” says Hernandez. “More than half of these people do not need to be in prison. That’s why I gave up. “
Hernandez says most of those in prison suffer from some form of mental health and end up without access to appropriate treatment or follow-up care after their release.
“They call it a relapse,” says Hernandez. “I call it nonsense.”
Hernandez describes most of those he cared for as having some kind of addiction problem.
“Of course, they were violent, but look at how they were treated,” he said. “Cheap old-school medicines that are easily available from the state and the same cheap medicines are given to almost everyone because the approach is universal for everyone.”
Hernandez says he feels as if Texas is partly responsible for Tuesday’s massacre.
“I’m sure we in Texas did our part to create this tragedy,” he said. “We focus on imprisoning anyone and everyone we consider a criminal, but we ignore serious potential offenders like this person so that we can devote resources to tracking and harassing a drug addict instead of treating addiction like the mental illness it is.”
Hernandez is now dealing with the trauma of thinking he was a blind part of the problem.
“How could I just sit and watch sick people go to jail, ignoring people like this killer,” he asks. “I have a feeling that I somehow allowed this to happen because I did not stop them from abusing their power against us.
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