Eliana was among the 19 students and two teachers who were killed by a gunman in their adjoining classrooms at the primary school on May 24th. The tragedy devastated the town of Uwalde, Texas, where families continue to bury their children who died in the shooting this week.
Four people are still in hospital, including a 10-year-old girl in serious condition and the shooter’s 66-year-old grandmother.
Locals quickly formed the basis of support for the surviving and grieving families of the victims, including the Garcia family. Some companies began forcing employees to wear purple and handing out purple bags of treats to show support for those grieving Eliana who loved color.
But as the community unites around the mourners, frustration remains high over officials’ lack of transparency about the horrific day. Officials have repeatedly changed the story of what happened in the attack, including key details about how the shooter entered the school, why police delayed confronting the gunman and how long it took authorities to kill him.
Former Uwalde city councilor Rogelio Munoz told CNN on Sunday that he believes mistakes were made during the police response, but many people have to share responsibility for law enforcement decisions taken that day.
“The truth is often gray. It is not black and white. You have responsible state authorities who throw the local police under the bus … The officers who responded were good decent people who, in retrospect, made a mistake in their judgment during an amplified situation, “Munoz said.
Munoz, who has no direct information about what happened during the shooting, said he believed Uvaldo’s school district police chief, Pedro “Pete” Aredondo, was one of those who shared responsibility for law enforcement response. Aredondo is the one who decided not to enter the classroom immediately, where the shooter was hidden with children and teachers, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.
“Aredondo made mistakes that day, but he’s not the only one,” Munoz told CNN, noting that DPS officials had also responded to the scene.
Aredondo recently took the oath of office at the city council, which he had previously held from Munoz. The school police chief has largely stayed out of the public eye since last week and told CNN he would not release more information while the victims’ funerals continued.
“We will treat the family with respect,” Aredondo said. “We will do it eventually. When this is done and the families stop grieving, then we will do it, obviously.”
The lack of clear details about law enforcement response could hamper efforts to prevent future attacks on schools, according to Senator Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uwalde.
“How on earth are we going to be able to do something if we can’t figure out what happened in this building in those 40 minutes?” Gutierrez told CNN in an interview on Friday.
“I do not want to go to school. Why? To be shot?
The safety and recovery of surviving children in Uwalde has become an urgent priority for parents and local authorities.
Students will not return to the Robb Elementary campus next school year, and arrangements are being made for placement in other schools, Uvalde Independent School District Governor Hal Harrell announced last week.
The plan was repeated at a school board meeting on Friday night, but parents were left without clear answers about the council’s plans to deal with the aftermath of the shooting.
Angela Turner, a mother of five in Uwalde who lost her niece in a school shooting, was outraged by the lack of a clear result.
“We want answers on where the security will take place. It was all a joke,” she said after the meeting. “I’m so disappointed with our school district.”
Turner will not allow her children to return to school until they are safe, she said, adding that her 6-year-old told her, “I don’t want to go to school. Why? Should he be shot?”
Robb Elementary joins a growing network of communities rocked by gun violence. So far this year, there have been 246 mass shootings in the United States, according to the Archives of Gun Violence, which, like CNN, defines mass shootings as killing four or more people without the shooter.
Victims and families are demanding responsibility from the gun manufacturer
The family of a student killed in the massacre and a teacher who survived the horrors of the day are seeking information from the manufacturer who produced the firearm used in the weapons, according to court documents obtained from CNN.
The mother and father of 10-year-old Amery Joe Garza, who was killed in the shooting, wrote separate letters to Daniel Defense, the company that makes the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack.
Amery’s mother’s lawyers, Kimberly Garcia, have asked Daniel Defense to “keep all potentially relevant information” related to the shooting, including “all physical, electronic and documentary evidence potentially related” to the company’s marketing of AR-15 rifles. according to a letter received from CNN.
Alfred Garza, Ameri’s father, also asked for information about the manufacturer’s marketing strategies, especially for children and teenagers, as well as all the company’s communications with the shooter.
“My goal now is to honor the memory of Amery Joe,” Garza said in a press release. “She would like me to do everything I can to ensure that this never happens to another child. I have to fight her.
Emilia Marin, a teacher at Rob Elementary School, filed a petition Thursday for the removal of Daniel Defense, according to a lawsuit. The petition for a preliminary claim does not accuse the manufacturer of illegal actions, but investigates whether Marin has any grounds to file a lawsuit against the company.
“We need to hold these people accountable,” Marin Don Flanari’s lawyer told CNN, adding that her legal team has no plans to sue the school, police or school district.
Through their testimony, Marin’s lawyers are looking for facts about the shooting, possession and sale of the weapon used by the shooter, death and injuries caused by his use of the Daniel Defense AR-15 rifle. They are also looking for information on “Daniel Defense’s model of marketing its products in a way that connects firearms and minors by posting on social media,” according to the petition.
Daniel Defense has not responded to numerous requests from CNN for comment.
Dave Alsup, Camilla Bernal, Meredith Edwards, Nick Valencia, Holly Ian, Ed Lavandera, Aya Elamrusi, Paradise Afshar, Rosa Flores and Omar Jimenez contributed to this report.
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