United States | Lifting the veil on Uvalde

A report sheds light on the deadliest school shooting in Texas’s history

But it could distract from solutions to prevent more gun violence

Law enforcement officers stage in a hallway after Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary school to kill 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 24, 2022 in a still image from surveillance video. Texas House Investigative Committee/Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.

Jul 21st 2022

“It could have been worse. The reason it was not worse is because law-enforcement officials did what they do.” So said Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, at a press conference in May, the day after 19 children and two teachers were fatally shot at an elementary school in Uvalde by Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old. Mr Abbott must feel sheepish. On July 17th a committee of the Texas House of Representatives released a report on its investigation into the shooting. The image that emerges from the 77 pages is of a police force in chaos. The tragedy at Robb Elementary School will not only be remembered because it was the deadliest shooting ever at a school in Texas, but also because the response was botched.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Lifting the veil on Uvalde”