As previously reported by REVOLT, the city of Uvalde, Texas is still trying to recover after suffering from an unimaginable tragedy. On May 24, a gunman entered Robb Elementary School and claimed the lives of 21 students and teachers. The city’s police department faced heavy scrutiny for their response time and overall handling of the situation.
The decision to suspend the entire Uvalde police force came today (Oct. 7). Troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety will assist the city until a permanent course of action is announced. “We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition,” the department said in a statement.
In addition to the officers being suspended, Ken Mueller (Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s director of student services) and Lt. Miguel Hernandez have been placed on administrative leave. It is not immediately clear how long these policies will remain in effect.
Kimberly Rubio lost her daughter Lexi in the fatal school shooting. Following the announcement, the grieving mother told ABC News, “They don’t know how to hire people, they don’t know how to vet officers.” She added that the Uvalde Police Department hasn’t “provided proper training” to its officers. Another parent, Gloria Cazares, lost her 9-year-old child Jackie during the May 24 massacre. While speaking with the outlet, she called the dismissal of deputies “bittersweet.”
Cazares continued, “It’s a win. A small win. We’re not done.” Gun control activist David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, tweeted his support for the victims’ families. “It took 245 hours of protesting, but it worked. Uvalde father Brett Cross with other families staged a continuous protest to demand accountability of the ‘good guys’ — cops with guns who only proved to be cowards with guns,” he wrote.
Another user echoed his sentiments: “Uvalde parents and families camped out and protested for 10 days and got the entire school district police department suspended. It shouldn’t take these parents protesting to get this outcome, but their bravery and resilience and organizing is an incredible inspiration.”
See related tweets below.