A video was posted on Facebook showing Uvalde parents pleading with police officers in the school grounds to enter the school and stop the shooting. Some wanted to charge into the building on their own. They yelled, they cursed, pleaded, to no avail. The response from the officer they encountered was to push them back. The video is posted on this article in The Washington Post. It will undoubtedly be all over the other news sites soon. (I’m not on FB.)
The police seemed to have no plan. They sat in their patrol cars, waiting for instructions.
As more and more law officers arrived—local, state, and federal—their confusion about what to do and who was in charge must have grown intense.
There was one evil guy with an AR15 and (as the saying goes among gun advocates) more than 100 good guys who had weapons, maybe even their own AR15s. Without action, their presence was not enough to save the 21 souls in the classroom the evil one entered. No one even tried to save them. The decision was made by someone to isolate the classroom instead of entering it.
This is not a time to take pride or offer congratulations on a fast response. This is a time for grief and shame. Grief for those who died at the hands of a heartless killer. Shame for the officials who failed to develop action plans to save those in danger.
Who should be held accountable?
Governor Greg Abbott.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Uvalde spends 40% of its city budget on police. What do they get out of the bargain? Do you understand why we say Defund the Police? If police want to be treated and funded like heroes, they have to act like heroes – not cowards, not bullies, not murderers.
LikeLike
This is so disturbing! We thought that, in the aftermath of Columbine, the rules of engagement were clear when students or staff were actually being shot and killed on a campus, i.e., that armed officers would immediately storm the shooter and take him out. Obviously, that is not universally understood across the nation.
I was superintendent of schools in Long Beach, CA when Columbine happened back in 1999. We’ve had more than two decades to get this right!
LikeLike
There was an armed guard at Columbine who did get off a few shots at the assassins but he missed.
LikeLike
From huffingtonpost, 12-23-2012: quote In 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 15 people and wounded 23 more at Columbine High School. The destruction occurred despite the fact that there was an armed security officer at the school and another one nearby — exactly what LaPierre argued on Friday was the answer to stopping “a bad guy with a gun.”
Deputy Neil Gardner was a 15-year veteran of the Jefferson County, Colo., Sheriff’s Office assigned as the uniformed officer at Columbine. According to an account compiled by the police department, Gardner fired on Harris but was unsuccessful in stopping him:
Gardner, seeing Harris working with his gun, leaned over the top of the car and fired four shots. He was 60 yards from the gunman. Harris spun hard to the right and Gardner momentarily thought he had hit him. Seconds later, Harris began shooting again at the deputy.
After the exchange of gunfire, Harris ran back into the building. Gardner was able to get on the police radio and called for assistance from other Sheriff’s units. “Shots in the building. I need someone in the south lot with me.”
The second officer was Deputy Paul Smoker, a motorcycle patrolman who was near the school writing a speeding ticket. When he heard a dispatch of a woman injured at the high school, he responded. He, too, fired at Harris but didn’t stop him. END QUOTE
LikeLike
The armed guard at Marjory Stoneman Douglas stayed out of the building where the killer was mowing people down.
LikeLike
Quick response was supposed to be one of the “Lessons from Columbine”, according to Dave Cullen’s 2009 book “Columbine”——–
“And the final practical lesson of Columbine is a revolution in police response tactics. Cops followed the old book at Columbine: surround the building, set up a perimeter, contain the damage. That approach has been replaced by the “active shooter protocol.” Optimally, it calls for a four-person team to advance in a diamond-shaped wedge. (If there isn’t time to gather four officers, a single officer should charge in alone.) They’re trained to move toward the sound of gunfire and neutralize the shooter. Their goal is to stop him at all costs. They will walk past a dying child if they have to, just to prevent the shooter from killing more. The active protocol has proved successful at numerous shootings during the past decade. At Virginia Tech alone, it probably saved dozens of lives.”
LikeLike
Carl,
Someone commented yesterday that the rules of engagement after Columbine changed, exactly as you said:
“armed officers would immediately storm the shooter and take him out.” In Texas, they waited 30-60 minutes. Time enough for the killer to slaughter 19 children and two teachers. This is incomprehensible.
As incomprehensible as Governor Abbott putting the blame on the killer’s “mental health” issues, while not admitting that he slashed mental health spending last year.
LikeLike
Diane I actually wondered at the time if the police thought breaking in would CAUSE the shooter to kill children, thinking that it may have been a de factor hostage situation. If that were the case, I think the crucial question is WHEN did the police know he had already killed people?
But I think Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz should RESIGN. What hopelessly idiotic idealogues. CBK
LikeLike
All this attention on Abbott and Cruz takes it away from Dan Patrick. Remember, he’s the one who really pulls the state’s power strings. All three would have equal billing on a Mt Rushmore of odiousness.
LikeLike
GregB Right. I just ACTUALLY got sick to my stomach watching the Abbott and Cruz show . . . my eyes would not stop rolling . . . right out of their sockets. Have you ever seen anything so COMPLETELY out-of-sync in your life. CBK
LikeLike
a Mt Rushmore of odiousness.
The back side of Rushmore, aka “Tushmore”
LikeLike
Stay away from the scratch ‘n sniff card in the brochure.
LikeLike
That’s where future generations will put Trump , which will be easy for the sculptor because all they will need to do is carve Trump’s ass — and neck
LikeLike
And the likeness will be unimportant, since the vast majority have never seen a photo (thankfully)
LikeLike
Or is the backside of Rushmore called Flushmore?
LikeLike
Mount Flushmore
Likened as a tush
Carved on back of Rushmore
Trump and Dubbya Bush
“Gracing” Mountain Flushmore
LikeLike
“Mt. Rushmore of odiousness.” The kind of locution word lovers live to hear.
LikeLike
It appears that everyone knew there was an active shooter in the building. It makes no sense for law officers to sit in their cars and not investigate.
The only logical explanation of the delay for me is that the response was so overwhelming that no one knew who was in charge and no one took charge. Whoever finally took charge made the outrageous decision to leave the shooter in the classrooom and evacuate the building. Despite the 100-1 advantage in men/women and firepower, the decision was made to write off the occupants of that room and isolate the killer with his victims.
The law officers are complimenting themselves for preventing more deaths, but ignoring the fact they disregarded an established protocol for active school shootings. See the comment by former Superintendent Carl Cohn, who was superintendent in Long Beach and in San Diego. Rule 1: storm the room where the shooter is and take him out.
LikeLike
Diane Thanks . . . I see that now, though it apparently is still unfolding as we speak. The parents who were there and heard shots ???? Here come the tears again, . . I cannot even imagine.
Apparently, our Congress dissed further gun legislation in the last 24 hours, according to a flash report from the Boston Globe. (I posted it, but it went to moderation.) CBK
LikeLike
Beto crashed Abbott’s mandatory, posturing press conference after the Uvalde massacre. Before he was ushered out, he yelled at Abbott, “You are doing nothing.” If I lived in Texas, I would give him a chance and vote for Beto. He has to be better than the current administration. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beto-orourke-greg-abbott-press-conference-texas-school-shooting/
LikeLike
At first I thought there must be something being wrongly reported. But the evidence is quickly implying something disturbing taken into context with other things and I’ll go there. The city of Uvalde is 78% Hispanic, 19% white. Yet based on the boorishness the mayor exhibited at the press conference in which O’Rourke interrupted, it sure looks to me like we have a Hispanic version of Ferguson, MO here. Political representation and police who do not in any way reflect their constituents. We can only hope Uvalde might become the Hispanic community’s Selma or Christopher St.
One wonders if the police would have reacted the same had it happened at a school like St. John’s in Houston. Nah, not really. We know.
LikeLike
I don’t know we need to go there. Weren’t there similar issues with the police response to the Parkland shootings? Police were at the scene, heard shots, knew or should have known that students and staff were being murdered, and did not enter the building.
LikeLike
Yes, two officers were fired and one is still facing charges. They violated policy. Your second sentence describes a clear violation of policy in cases like this. Are you saying that since policy was violated and officers were and are being held accountable in Parkland that it provides a precedent for the Uvalde police not to do anything, as the released video strongly suggests?
LikeLike
No, I’m not saying that and I don’t know what would make you think I am saying that. I’m simply saying that I do not think it is self-evident, as you suggest it is, that the reason the police waited so long outside is because the students were predominantly Latino.
LikeLike
Well, you muddied up your argument by bringing in irrelevant and incorrect information about Parkland. Hamilton Burger-ish.
LikeLike
Sorry.
LikeLike
This post takes the extreme partisanship of this blog to a new level. How could any Governor have stopped this massacre while it was in progress? Gov. Abbott wasn’t the lead officer on the scene, and no Governor has the authority to take charge of a law enforcement incident like this. Blame Abbott and others for their opinions on gun control, and blame the cops present for their inaction, but stay in the real world.
LikeLike
Guy Helms You get the “best in show” prize for Missing the Point. CBK
LikeLike
🏆
LikeLike
What is the point? Is Gavin Newsome responsible for shootings in California? Is every Democratic Governor responsible for all the murders in their respective states? The extreme partisanship diminishes this blog in a hugely negative way, but only to serious people.
LikeLike
Guy Helms It’s reasonable GUN LEGISLATION, . . . . (I won’t say “stupid” because I don’t know you, but I’ll admit to thinking it.) And behind that is the inordinate power of lobbyists, i.e., the NRA.
As a point of personal development for some, I suspect a thread going back to recalcitrant American adolescence and “cowboy” mentality. But GUN LEGISLATION is enough for now. (Did you really not understand that or are you just another troll?) CBK
LikeLike
Governor Newsom wants more gun controls, not less.
Governor Abbott advocated for and signed a law to allow people to buy a gun without obtaining a permit and to carry it openly or conceal it. His goal has been to remove all restrictions on gun ownership.
I am not partisan. I will gladly salute a Governor of any party who wants to control guns and ban the sale of military weapons to civilians.
I have written dozens of posts favoring gun control and opposing those—like Abbott and Cruz—who love guns more than life.
Please name a Republican Governor who wants to ban civilian ownership of assault weapons and I will write a glowing post about him or her. Please, name one.
LikeLike
Guy Helms,
If Gavin Newsome was tweeting that more people should buy guns and supported 18 year olds being able to buy all the assault weapons they want, then he would be to blame.
But since only the Texas Governor is trying to get more angry and murderous people to buy guns, and he opposes any background checks and believes 18 year olds should be able to buy as many assault weapons as they want, he is to blame.
It isn’t hard to understand. If you support 18 year olds being able to buy assault weapons, you are to blame, too.
LikeLike
GUY HELMS Also, it’s a power block in Congress where some Republicans are simply working on the principle: If the democrats want it, I’ll vote against it. They’ll do ANYTHING to keep democrats out of power . . . as principle that has Mitch McConnell’s fingerprints all over it.
And when EITHER party does THAT, it’s bad for the country all around. CBK
LikeLike
Ms. King,
Next time try reading for actual comprehension. In my first comment I wrote: “Blame Abbott and others for their opinions on gun control, and blame the cops present for their inaction…..
LikeLike
Guy Helms I was waiting for that: It’s not Abbott’s or Cruz’s or anyone’s “opinions,” but their voting for and signing legislation.
You don’t quit with the Orwellian defraying double-speak, do you? Don’t you know we read the playbook? It’s really predictable. CBK
LikeLike
Kudos to CBK for taking on the right wing misinformers and distractors. As frustrating and annoying as it is, the fact that you are calling it out in real time is important. It matters. Thank you very much for doing that.
LikeLike
NYC JUST ONE upshot of their arguments and actions is that teachers are left out on the proverbial limb, literally holding their dead students while they are shot and killed themselves.
I am hoping that the NRA’s quiver of egregious propaganda is finally empty or at least that most become aware of it. But then I was one who thought Trump could never become president after he did that, and that, and then THAT . . . .
The deeper issue is that people who really love freedom commonly don’t want to spend their time and effort trying to control others OR arguing with trolls. And I suggest THAT’s why it is so hard to get the majority of liberal-thinking people to be as concerted and loud as the idiots and puppets that now people AND FUND the Republican Party. CBK
LikeLike
And the cluelessness award goes to, . . .
Mr. Helms!
LikeLike
Yes, I blame Abbott for his fierce devotion to gun rights, which he places above human life.
I blame Governor Abbott for the extreme unprofessionalism and lack of training of state police in responding to the school shooting.
I blame Governor Abbott for the failure to prepare for a school shooting of this magnitude.
I blame Governor Abbott for his devotion to guns over children.
I blame Governor Abbott for gross hypocrisy in calling himself pro-life. In Uvalde, we learned that he is pro-death.
I blame Governor Abbott for blaming the killing on “mental health issues,” after he slashed the state budget for mental health services.
I blame Governor Abbott for demanding a law authorizing permitless open carry of guns.
I blame Governor Abbott for prioritizing the needs of the NRA over the lives of children and teachers.
Who should be accountable for the failure of the law enforcement officers under his command if not him? He is the Governor.
I am a native Texan and I am embarrassed that such a selfish, cruel, heartless, self-serving man was elected Governor. I just wish Ann Richards were alive to kick his backside out of Austin. I hope Beto does.
LikeLike
Nailed it, Diane. But of course, it’s just about Abbott’s OPINIONS. Sheesh. CBK
LikeLike
Hmmm, there is a word for your comments sir…what is it now? Oh yes–obtuse.
LikeLike
Business Insider reported about the 15 deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history (data begins in 1999). Six were in Texas (current pop. approx. 30 mil.) Two were in Calf. (current population 40 mil.) Two were in Florida (current pop. 22 mil.) The other 5 states had 1 each.
LikeLike
“Shame for the officials who failed to develop action plans to save those in danger. Who should be held accountable? Governor Greg Abbott.”
Yes, Abbot as governor, but ALSO those officials, supervisors, and/or commanders whose PROFESSION is security and law enforcement, and YET they did not provide proper and effective training to their officers.
LikeLike
Like Greene I do not want to hear the unrealistic expectation of arming teachers. Guns would ultimately end up in the wrong hands from human error. Why should the burden be on people that studied education, not law enforcement? The states want to push responsibility on teachers as a cheap, cop-out, instead of accepting safety as an obligation of the state. So many states insult and attack teachers instead of showing them respect for the important work they do. Expecting them to function as a militia is absurd. Some governors don’t even want to give them the freedom to select library books.
LikeLike
Training cowards- an oxymoron?
LikeLike
Mark Yes, . . . all the way up the line . . . to the State and U.S. Congresses. (See the article in the Boston Globe that, at this writing, went to moderation.) CBK
LikeLike
It’s not every day that I shed tears in my office. This is so upsetting.
LikeLike
Same. I lost it when I saw the pictures of the murdered kids. One of them looked just like my daughter at that age, not that the resemblance matters.
LikeLike
Bob, it’s a natural response to see your own child in the face of a baby who was murdered. It shows that you empathize. It is as if it was your own child.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Moderation is a pain in the behind. CBK
LikeLike
Parents around the country should take a lesson from this and ask to see the detailed plan that their local police have in place to respond to an active shooter situation.
They should ask how many officers would be involved and who would be in charge.
They should also ask to see documentation demonstrating that the police have rehearsed such a situation in an actual school enough times that the response is pretty much automatic.
LikeLike
Since it also directly involves school officials and teachers, the latter would also have to be apprised of the detailed plan ahead of time so they would know what to expect if it happened in their own school.
LikeLike
Ms. Gomez was arrested trying to save her kids. She got “Law Enforcement” set her free. Around her was a FRANTIC scene.
Gomez saw a father tackled and thrown to the ground by police. Another pepper-sprayed. Freed from cuffs/Gomez jumped the school fence/ran inside/grabbed her two and fled.
WSJ
Meanwhile, Five 4th graders hid under a table w/ obscuring table cloth.
Police officers outside the room urged kids to yell if they needed help.
Actually Shouted YELL IF YOU NEED HELP!
One student in the class screamed HELP in reply.
The shooter overheard. He came in and shot her.
HoustonChronicle
LikeLike
“Police officers outside the room urged kids to yell if they needed help.”
What a ridiculous request. Nah, some kids don’t need help. They can manage such a situation on their own.
LikeLike
Curiouser and curiouser. I watched the sheriff’s update press conference this afternoon. They’re now saying that in fact there was no armed guard/ SRO present at the school. All this stuff about an SRO who ‘engaged the shooter,’ and later stories about three armed guards who couldn’t stop him– wrong.
Another thing: the narrative that police were all outside the school while parents begged them to enter– that apparently was just the police who weren’t already inside. In fact in one of the articles covering this, two witnesses said, they’re already in there I saw them go in. At the press conference the sheriff verified there was a group of police that entered the building within four minutes of arrival and were taking gunfire (two wounded) as they followed the shooter. Some of them took up a position as close as they could get to where the shooter barricaded himself. The rest were getting the other children out of the building.
Gotta figure the first responders were cops from Uvalde and nearby small towns who arrived within minutes, grouped and entered. Probably no bullet-proof vests, no assault rifles, no batting ram. Meanwhile a bunch of others were arriving and milling around as parents began arriving.
LikeLike
Yeah, we are too quick to blame the police. The sure thing is to blame Abbott for all the things Diane’s poem exhibited.
LikeLike
My understanding–from watching quite a few hours of MSNBC tonight–was that it was a Texas Border Patrol Officer who fatally shot Ramos. (& some commented, “A BORDER PATROL OFFICER took him out?!”)
A battering ram should be a required tool in such a situation, because this isn’t the first school shooting in which the shooter locked/barricaded the door.
This should be remembered for the next time. And there WILL be a next time.
LikeLike
The killer shot out the glass window on the classroom door. The police could have shot out the whole door.
LikeLike
I’ve said this before. I’ll say it again. Given the large numbers of guns in private hands in the U.S. and the existence of the gun-loving “pro-life” party in the U.S., we are not going to have sane gun control in this country for a long, long time.
Therefore, we MUST do what can be done to protect children. At every courthouse in the country, all visitors must go through an entrance with a metal detector and an officer overseeing this. We have to start doing that at all schools in the United States. Other doors must be locked from the outside. I would further suggest that the metal detectors be connected to automatically closing and locking doors, the entrance door and a second one, past the metal detector, that have to be remotely opened from the inside in order for someone to gain entrance. So, the detector senses metal or explosives, the two doors automatically lock, trapping the person inside with the officer until the source of the triggering of the alarm is identified.
LikeLike
“Given the large numbers of guns in private hands in the U.S. and the existence of the gun-loving “pro-life” party in the U.S., we are not going to have sane gun control in this country for a long, long time.”
I agree entirely with this premise, unfortunately.
Remember though that the overwhelming majority of shootings in the U.S. are not high-profile mass shootings in schools. They happen every day with little national press in cities all over the country. What extreme measures, if any, should be taken to prevent them?
LikeLike
I understand, Flerp. That’s why we must start organizing protests outside gun shops that sell these automatic weapons, as Ginny suggested and keep pressuring our legislators. But if I were taking over as superintendent somewhere, ordering the construction of these entrances, preparing operations guidelines regarding entrances and exits, and interviewing officers for positions manning those detector sites would be my first piece of business, followed by setting up standardized test opt-out for parents with automatic forwarding of their opt-out letters to state and federal legislators and education officials.
LikeLike
Dear parents: From this day forward, ________ High School will issue graduation certificates to students who complete our course of study regardless of students’ participation in state testing. And here’s why:
LikeLike
Yes, Bob, metal detectors are absolutely necessary in all schools. I remember that–a # of years ago–there was quite a fuss made that one of the CPS high schools had installed a metal detector (this having been done due to gang violence/threats, not due to school shootings). It appeared to be extremely effective. I don’t know if they still have it (need to look it up).
Also, apologies to Diane & others: misinformation that Beto O’Rourke was going to be on “The Late Show w/Stephen Colbert,” which doesn’t seem to be the case. Sorry for that.
LikeLike
Here is Ted Cruz (rhymes with ooze), that pustule on the body politic, responding to yet another mass murder of children:
“Heidi & I are fervently lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde. We are in close contact with local officials, but the precise details are still unfolding. Thank you to heroic law enforcement & first responders for acting so swiftly.”
How nice. The dead kids are now lifted up by Heidi and Ted. So, all good. And never fear, Cancun Cruz is on the job, talking to those local officials! And thanks to all the heroic law enforcement folk who stood around outside for an hour while a deranged teenager with a history of starting fights in school was inside murdering kids with a military-style assault weapon he purchased for himself because . . . slimy, brainless politicians like Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick.
LikeLike
Cruz’ response is just weird.
Who does Cruz think he is, anyway? Jesus Christ?
LikeLike
So you think cruzifiction awaits the hero of Cancun who levitates kids with his magical prayers?
LikeLike
Well, I believe his name, in Spanish, means “cross.”
LikeLike
CRUZIFICTION! Great term Mate–clear, poetic and accurate. Deserves to go viral!
LikeLike
&, this afternoon, he “stormed out of a press conference,” having given some really inane answers to a very dogged reporter.
Not a person, this is another it, just like it45. No heart, no soul, no brain.
LikeLike
The police just frozen on the spot? What on Earth is going on. Any other surprises to come out of Texas???
LikeLike
No surprises. But plenty there in plain sight for anyone to see, like the 30 million dollars that the NRA gave to the Trump campaign in 2016. Where did all that money come from? Well, take a wild guess.
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals
LikeLike
The Insider reported today that Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.- R) said people need AR-15’s to kill feral pigs. He was in the news earlier this month, “Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy: Our state’s maternal death rates are only bad if you count black women” (Vanity Fair headline).
At his website, he boasts about his “A” rating from the National Right to Life committee.
His website includes the following, “Faith and religion have played a vital role in our history…protect the unborn…”
LikeLike
The NRA gave 30 million to Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. There have been numerous press reports that that money came from Russia. As a 501(c)(4), the NRA does not have disclose the sources of its funds. However, if it was acting as a conduit for Russian money to American political campaigns, then it was an unregistered foreign lobbying organization, and that’s illegal.
Putin’s dog, Trump, keeps rolling it in, and despite decades of money laundering for Russian mobsters and such shadowing funding sources as this, Trump remains another incarnation of the Teflon Don. The Teflon Don Cheeto “Littlefingers” Trumpbalone. Above the law because there is one law for folks like you and me and another for folks like him.
LikeLike
More blood on Trump’s dirty little hands, and those of Putin, ofc.
These two. Brothers from another mother. Two peas in gilded pods.
LikeLike