Disclaimer: This article may contain the personal views and opinions of the author.
The Texas school shooting was one of the most tragic. Not because of the loss but the way it was handled. If law enforcement did their job, 19 children didn’t have to die.
Madison County, North Carolina school system has plans to ensure mistakes like Uvalde, Texas don’t happen under their watch.
The plan is to put AR-15 rifles in emergency safes. Citizen Times reported:
Madison County Schools and Madison County Sheriff’s Office are collaborating to enhance security in the schools for the upcoming school year after the Uvalde, Texas, tragedy revealed systemic failures and poor decision-making, with responding police disregarding active-shooter trainings, according to a report from the Texas state house.
“Those officers were in that building for so long, and that suspect was able to infiltrate that building and injure and kill so many kids,” Sheriff Buddy Harwood said. “I just want to make sure my deputies are prepared in the event that happens.”
The city of Uvalde released seven bodycam videos after the House released its report. In the videos, a handful of police responds around 11:35 am. They are later joined by a crowd of officers from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Border Patrol and Texas game wardens.
Citizen Times reported:
“The reason we put the breaching tools in the safes is that in the event we have someone barricaded in a door, we won’t have to wait on the fire department to get there,” Harwood said. “We’ll have those tools to be able to breach that door if needed. I do not want to have to run back out to the car to grab an AR, because that’s time lost. Hopefully, we’ll never need it, but I want my guys to be as prepared as prepared can be.”
At points in the body cam videos show moments of urgency, while other moments show long periods of police waiting around. You can also hear, while not explicit, an officer said:
“That’s my wife’s classroom.”
That is the voice of Ruben Ruiz, the husband of Eva Mireles. Sadly, Eva Mireles was one of the two teachers slain. Eva Mireles could have been saved if it weren’t for the failed police response.
The bottom line is while we may back the blue, the blue needs to be able to back us up. So far, the police in Ulvade had not served their community when it mattered the most. Hopefully, with Madison County, there is a chance this plan will be the solution we all have been searching for.
