Families demand suspension of 5 Ulvalde police officers for «inaction» in shooting

A young man murdered 19 children and two teachers last May.

The Uvalde school shooting is far from over.

Families demand suspension of five police officers for “inaction” during the massacre.

The nightmare continues… Last May the news shook the entire world: A young man murdered 19 children and two teachers in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. Now, almost three months after the massacre, families demand the suspension of five police officers for their «inaction» during the shooting.

According to EFE, this request was made in the midst of a heated discussion with the Uvalde Municipal Council, according to KSAT. In a letter delivered to City Manager Vince DiPiazza, the families asked that police officers Eduardo Canales, Adrián Martínez, Paul Villa, Justin Mendoza and Mariano Pargas be immediately suspended.

The five police officers responded to the massacre in Uvalde, Texas

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In addition, it was requested that “appropriate measures be taken” regarding the police officers according to the results of the investigation: “The inaction of these officers, along with other law enforcement departments, directly resulted in more loss of life,” says the letter disclosed by the television station.

“The nonchalant attitudes from these officers, and the squandering of valuable time during this crisis, were an egregious act of negligence,” says the letter. Canales, commander of the Uvalde Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team, was one of the first officers to approach the door of the classroom where Ramos did most of the shooting.

Families are concerned about the start of the new school year in Uvalde

Photo: AP

About Pargas, the families say that he «was directed by his chief, via phone, to establish a command post, but he failed to do so.» Most of the council meeting was used to hear public comment on police responsibility in the shooting, amid concerns from families as the new school year begins.

Today, Judge Catherine A. Mauzy denied a request to release Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) records on the shooting. State Senator Roland Gutierrez, who has been one of the officials most critical of how DPS responded to the shooting, had sought the court’s support for an investigation into the actions of nearly 100 state police officers who were present at the shooting scene. Filed As: After massacre in Uvalde, families demand suspension of 5 police officers for “inaction” in shooting

School police chief is suspended

Photo: AP

For his part, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that DPS will provide more than 30 officers to Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) campuses for the new school year. The DPS presence was requested by UCISD Superintendent Hal Harrell to ensure that students, parents and school staff feel safe when they return to school.

UCISD is due to hold a meeting to discuss the firing of suspended School Police Chief Pete Arredondo. Harrell recommended last July the firing of the chief, who was in charge of the response to the shooting. Filed as: After massacre in Uvalde, families demand suspension of 5 police officers for “inaction” in shooting

After massacre in Uvalde, North Carolina police will give AR-15 rifles to schools

Photo: AP

When schools in a North Carolina county reopen later this month, the new measures will include a stock of AR-15 rifles for school officers to use in case a gunman is shooting.

Following the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed in May, school officials and Madison County Police Chief Buddy Harwood have provided one of the semi-automatic rifles in each of the six county schools. Each weapon will be inside a safe, Harwood said, according to the AP.