Elaiza AraizaMay 24, 2022, Truly a Date That Will Live in Infamy
Last Saturday, I went to Uvalde to pay tribute to those who died at Robb Elementary School.
Two years ago today, 19 elementary school children and their two teachers were massacred by an 18 year-old adolescent who had no business owning a gun, let alone two. But this shooting, the largest mass shooting of school children in Texas history, occurred in a state where anyone 18 years and older has the right to buy any weapon with no questions asked.
Nothing is required – no background check, no permit, no training, and no limit on the number of weapons bought or rounds of ammunition. On his 18th birthday, this shooter bought two weapons, including an AR-15, promoted by the NRA as “America’s rifle.”
Though two of the children were decapitated by the bullets, not all died instantly. After the shooting stopped, the wounded “bled out” while 400 armed cowards in law enforcement uniforms stood around outside for 77 minutes, unwilling to risk their lives to take out one shooter. Finally, a border patrol agent entered the school building carrying a shield for cover and a gun and did what one cop could have done an hour earlier, which may have saved the lives of some children.
Today, 21 families are reliving that senseless day when 19 innocent children and two beloved teachers lost their lives due to the action of one shooter and the inaction of 400 well-armed cowards who could have saved some of them, or at least tried. The husband of one teacher was so overwhelmed with grief that he himself died days later. Find a moment to pray for those 21 families today. May these 22 innocent souls rest in peace in God’s heaven.
Dr. Juan Andrade
President, USHLI