A teacher at Rob Elementary School in Uwald, Texas, expressed doubts after the state’s Republican governor visited the community where a mass shooting killed 19 children and two adults.
Uvalde’s teacher Arnulfo Reyes told CNN He dismissed the governor’s visit on Monday as a “show” and expressed doubts that any concrete action would be taken to prevent future mass shootings.
“I think it’s just a political issue and I don’t think they care,” Mr Reyes said. “I think it’s just for show. … If he would care, he wouldn’t be holding the NRA (convention) in Houston after our tragedy.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t actually attend the May 27 NRA convention, but he did appear in a recorded message played at the event.
According to Mr. Reyes, he asked Mr. Abbott why the state’s minimum gun buying age had not been raised from 18 to 21. The Guman who attacked the primary school was 18 and legally purchased two firearms around his 18th birthday.
“I asked him about the age limit…why are we still at 18? Why can’t we move to 21?” Mr Reyes said. “He said they found it unconstitutional to change the age or anything like that.”
A spokesman for Mr Abbott said he had met more than two dozen families in Uvalde since the attack and would continue to meet them ahead of the new school year.
The governor said he intended to keep all schools in the state safe, claiming the Uvalde school would be safer than most other schools.
This is in line with an update from the Uwald School Board, which announced plans to improve school safety. This will include hiring more officers for the regional police force, which had five members on the day of the shooting.
On the day of the shooting, officers waited outside the classroom at Rob Elementary School for more than an hour. While they waited, the gunman killed the child inside. Eventually, a Border Patrol team ignoring police orders stormed the room and killed the gunman.
Despite the school board’s announcement, Uwald’s parents remained skeptical. They questioned the board’s transparency about its upcoming security changes.
Frustration among Uwald residents remains strong, local broadcaster reports KRDOA planned NRA fundraiser in the nearby town of Hondo was forced to relocate after its lease agreement was rescinded, largely due to backlash from community members and Uvalde residents.
Speaking on rent at a council meeting, Jazmin Cazares said the fundraiser would be “a slap in the face” for the Uvalde family.
“This is a slap in the face for the whole of Uwald, especially those who have lost loved ones, some of us are here today. If you donate $5,000 to the NRA, the AR-15 you get is harder A slap in the face,” she said.
Uziyah Garcia, a relative of Nikki Cross who was killed in the shooting, pointed out that the gun given away at the fundraiser was the same type of weapon used in the shooting.
“What’s wrong with your neighbor who loves you? Isn’t that a thing here? What if that particular gun they gave away on this thing fell into the hands of another angry 18-year-old?” Ms Cross said. “Then it could be that your child is in danger and we stand with you. I just ask you to postpone it. Give us time to grieve. We’ve been through enough.”
