Imagine raising a family in a quiet rural Texas town. You send your kids off to school, certain that it’s a safe, peaceful learning environment. You head off to work or begin the household chores with a clear mind. Then comes the bombshell that rocks your world. Neighborhood rumors spread that a teen armed with an assault rifle has invaded your child’s “safe haven.” Ambulances approach the elementary school with sirens blaring, and you wonder if your little boy or girl could be in harm’s way.
Those were the tragic circumstances in late morning on May 24th when a troubled high school senior in the community of Uvalde, about 80 miles west of San Antonio, took out his built up anger on third and fourth graders. Armed with an AR-15 style weapon, Salvador Ramos barricaded himself inside a full classroom for almost an hour before being gunned down by police. But prior to being killed, the attacker murdered 19 children and two teachers in the bloodiest school shooting since Sandy Hook a decade ago.
For the residents of Uvalde though, who are 80% Mexican-American, the horror brought back memories of the Wal-Mart slaughter in El Paso when 23 people were killed and the same number injured in August of 2019. That massacre was instigated by a young white supremacist who drove hundreds of miles with a plan to “hunt Mexicans.” To be sure, racism is still alive and well in this country, as demonstrated by the slaying of 10 elderly African-Americans recently at a Buffalo super market. But the scenario in Uvalde was a different story, confirming the need to combat mental illness, especially after the two year pandemic lockdown.
Ramos was a pathetic individual who lived mostly with his grandparents and was reportedly bullied throughout his adolescence. He rarely attended school and the few friends he had started to shun him because of “weird behavior.” Yet much like Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland shooter, the red flags were either not reported or ignored. Another oddity occurred when Ramos legally bought an assault rifle from a local sporting goods store less than a week after his 18th birthday, and then purchased another one a few days later. Did that not seem strange to the clerk at the store?
On the morning he would change the lives of many families forever, Ramos had a plan in place. He shot his grandmother in the forehead, stole her truck and headed for Robb Elementary School, the desired “soft target” to raise hell. There would be a slight mishap when Ramos drove the truck into a ditch about 100 yards from the parking lot. But he managed to exit the vehicle from the passenger side, shot at two bystanders who were approaching the crash scene, and walked toward the main school building while spraying bullets everywhere.
To nobody’s surprise, politicians from the left and right turned another tragedy into a political football. During a packed press conference that included Texas governor Greg Abbott, re-election opponent Beto O’Rourke made a fool of himself by getting into a shouting match with city officials and was escorted out of the auditorium. Look, the NRA will continue to line the pockets of our elected officials in D.C. as they have for years. And the Second Amendment will never be overturned because it is a permanent part of our constitution. What CAN be done however, is pass legislation for universal background checks and increase the wait time for new firearm applications. That will also create time to investigate folks who could have mental heath issues, and get them some help. Also, if you HEAR or SEE something on social media, alert the authorities. That should get the ball rolling in the right direction.
Race relations and violence will continue to be a work in progress. That said, getting ghost guns off the streets and positive police relations will be another step in the right direction. The key here is accepting gradual change and mutual respect for each other.
