“I feel sorry for them because they have to live with that mistake of just standing by,” Julian Moreno, a former pastor at Primera Iglesia Bautista and great-grandfather of one of the girls killed, said of Uvalde’s police.
US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, whose tactical officers led an assault that eventually ended the standoff at the school, defended his agency’s actions.
“When my agents got the call, they rolled as quickly as they could,” Ortiz told Reuters on Sunday.
The on-site commander, the chief of the school district’s police department, believed the gunman was no longer an active shooter but was instead barricaded inside and that children were no longer at risk, a Texas state official said last week.
The Uvalde shooting has once again put gun control at the top of the nation’s agenda, months ahead of the November midterm elections, with supporters of stronger gun laws arguing that the latest bloodshed represents a tipping point.
Biden, a Democrat, has repeatedly called for major reforms to America’s gun laws but has been powerless to stop mass shootings or convince Republicans that stricter controls could stem the carnage.
‘WE NEED HELP’
The Texas visit is Biden’s third presidential trip to a mass shooting site, including earlier this month when he visited Buffalo, New York, after a gunman killed 10 black people in a Saturday afternoon attack at a grocery store.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who opposes new gun restrictions, and other local officials accompanied Biden on his visit to the school on Sunday.
“We need help, Governor Abbott,” some in the crowd yelled as Biden arrived at the school. “Shame on you, Abbott.”
Others shouted thanks to Biden as he arrived at the school.
For all the latest world News Click Here
