Uvalde Strong #2

As I write this article there is still no reason expressed as to why the lone 18 year old gunman chose to enter Robb Elementary School and commit his unspeakable heinous crime.  The slaughter of 19 innocent children and two heroic teachers is still a mystery as no concrete evidence of motive has been revealed.  The investigation by the FBI and the Texas Rangers is ongoing. 

A Texas Senate hearing, held on June 21 - 22 did conclude that the law enforcement response was an “abject failure” according to Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw. The hearing revealed that there were law men present minutes after the shooter arrived on the scene and that lives could have been spared.   Also that Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief had many reasons for not going in and ending the shooter’s killing spree.  Arredondo’s excuses for not going in the school were: No rifles were available, no shields, no keys, not enough men.  The hearing further revealed that rifles weren’t needed since he did have a gun.  There were shields and the classrooms were not locked.  Since the hearing, Arredondo has been put on administrative leave from the school district and the city council which he had recently been elected to has not given him excused absences from the council meetings.  If he is absent for three meeting he is out!

We traveled again to Uvalde, Texas on Wednesday, June 15.  What we found, in addition to the initial memorials at the school and the town plaza, were several smaller cross memorials.  Indications of sadness and sorrow were very prevalent among the people.  It is my opinion that anger is not yet present and the grieving will not end soon.

Speaking to a longtime resident of Uvalde, I learned that his views echoed the small town’s wishes.  "We want all the media to leave to go away to leave us alone.  We have enough to do on a daily basis of thwarting the illegals from our homes and countryside, we don’t need anything else to deal with." He also commented, "We don't need them stirring up trouble."

It’s interesting that the "media" is considered “something else to deal with and they stir up trouble.”  There was no sign of any media vehicles and swarming of reporters on this trip as like on May 27.  They have faded away as have the thousands of people who came to pay their respects.  What I saw were a few individuals still bringing flowers and small stuffed animals to place by the crosses at the school.

The mass of dead flowers is just another reminder of how fragile life is.  There is no scent of fresh flowers only the lingering odor of the eucalyptus trying desperately to clear away any negative energy in the area.  This sight brings tears to one’s eyes.  It also reminded me of St. Michael the Archangel and his battle to protect us from the wickedness and snares of Satan.

Remembering what the resident and I spoke about was his delight in the fact of how the mayor, Don McLaughlin had handled BETO and how it would have been better if the mayor could have moved around but his recent surgery prevented him from a face to face confrontation with BETO.  He believes Gov. Greg Abbott is doing what he can at the border with the illegals considering that it is a federal issue.

We spoke about the chief of police for the Uvalde school district, Pete Arredondo, who has attracted plenty of criticism for the delay in entering the school classrooms and is now an elected member of the city council.  According to the news media Arredondo attended Robb elementary as so many residents had but another resident I spoke to says that Arredondo is not a native of Uvalde and hopes that he will leave their community.   It seems residents agree that Arredondo should do the right thing and resign his position on the city council. 

We went to the Hillcrest Cemetery and visited a few of the burial sites. I spoke to a grounds keeper and asked him about the situation with this school police chief.  The grounds keeper said, "God will take care of him.  God will judge him."  The longtime resident agreed with his statement.    

I found no hatred in the hearts of the people.  The people of Uvalde are showing empathy towards the families of the victims.  They are hardworking and their families are important to them.   The longtime resident sighed as he told me that he didn’t know what he would do if it were one of his children.

He doesn’t believe in gun control because evil men will always find guns to kill.  What they want most is to create an atmosphere so they can move forward and put behind the tragedy that so severely damaged his hometown.   He did say that it was an unidentified teacher that had opened the back door and when she closed it, the door did not latch.  This was revealed in the Texas senate hearing.   There was no condemnation towards this teacher. 

Uvalde is planning to tear down the elementary school and build a new one so the children will want to attend school and not be afraid of any lingering recollection of the attack.   

We spoke for about an hour and I can vouch for his sincerity. The longtime Uvalde resident and his family love their hometown and only want the best for its citizens because they are Uvalde Strong!

Uvalde continues to struggle with the Secure Status alerts which are called “bailouts”.  When a vehicle is being chased for carrying illegals being smuggled to Texas from the border and the illegals “bailout”, i.e. jump off the vehicle and run in different locations in Uvalde.  For instance, if the illegals jump out of the vehicles and run into Wal-Mart or other places, the schools are then locked down.  The people are tired of the biden administration’s “open borders” policy.

THE RED REPORT©

RED SONJA                           

NEVER GIVE UP!