The Uvalde mass shooting has been the subject of many negative stories. We saw the disturbing picture of the police in uniform with shields at 11:52. They didn’t enter the building for another 58 minutes. They didn’t even attempt to open the door in the remaining minutes, or they would have discovered it wasn’t locked.
BREAKING: Multiple officers were inside Robb Elementary School with rifles and at least one ballistic shield at 11:52 a.m. the day of the shooting, new video and other evidence shows. They didn’t enter the classroom for another 58 minutes. More soon via @statesman and @KVUE. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/0BcYgq2hcQ
— Tony Plohetski (@tplohetski) June 20, 2022
It is hard to believe there is more.
The latest may be the worst.
On Wednesday, Col. Steven McCraw, Texas Department of Public Safety Director, testified about the tragic events that occurred to Eva Mireles. It was heartbreaking. Ruben Ruiz was her husband. He was also a district police officer. McCraw reports that Ruiz received a call from McCraw stating that Ruiz had “shot her and she’s dead.” Ruiz informed the authorities on the scene that Ruiz called at 11:48 AM.
It’s difficult to listen even just for a moment.
McCraw stated, “And what happened? He tried to move forward in the hallway.” “He was taken into custody and his gun confiscated by McCraw and escorted off the scene.”
The husband of Uvalde teacher Eva Mireles is an officer who responded to scene. When he tried to get to her, other officers took his gun away and escorted him out, according to the DPS director. https://t.co/gI5StYusfV
— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) June 22, 2022
Eva Mireles was still breathing 22 minutes later, at 12:10 p.m., when one of the children called 911 asking for help. “I don’t want to be dead, my teacher has died, please send help for my teacher. She is still alive, but she is shot.”
Mireles’ desperate husband and Mireles’ phone call made it clear that there were still people out there and they knew it.
The shooter was not confronted for more than an hour. Mireles was alive even after that.
The Times reported earlier in the month that officers could be seen on video rushing children out of the room and delivering Ms. Mireles. She appeared to be in severe pain. She was rushed to an ambulance but she died before she reached the hospital.
In emergency medicine, there is a common concept. This is known as the “golden hour”. It refers to the importance of getting help to critically injured patients within the first hour. After that, their chances of dying increase. Every case is different. They wasted their golden hour by not responding. It is hard to not think of the possibility that they could have saved her life if they had rushed to help. It’s difficult to imagine the pain her husband must have endured in all this, not only knowing that he could save her but also having them hold him and the parents of her children back. It’s hard to believe that every officer didn’t want to go into the building with them.
