Bidens visit Texas city in mourning
DOJ to investigate law enforcement’s response in Uvalde
UVALDE, Texas — President Joe Biden grieved with the shattered community of Uvalde on Sunday, mourning privately for three hours with anguished families left behind when a gunman killed 19 schoolchildren and two teachers. Faced with chants of “do something” as he departed a church service, Biden pledged: “We will.”
At Robb Elementary School, Biden visited a memorial of 21 white crosses — one for each of those killed — and first lady Jill Biden added a bouquet of white flowers to those already placed in front of the school sign. The couple then viewed individual altars erected in memory of each student, the first lady touching the children’s photos as they moved along the row.
After visiting the memorial, Biden attended Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where several victims’ families are members, and one of the families was in attendance.
Speaking directly to the children in the congregation, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-siller tried to assuage the fears of the youngsters, some appearing about the same age as the victims.
“You have seen the news, you have witnessed the tears of your parents, friends,” he said, encouraging them not to be afraid of life. “You are the best reminders to us that the lives of the little ones are important.”
As Biden departed the church to meet privately with family members, a crowd of about 100 people began chanting “do something.”
Biden answered, “We will,” as he got into his car.
Biden tweeted during the visit that he grieves, prays and stands with the people of Uvalde.
“And we are committed to turning this pain into action,” he said.
The visit to Uvalde was Biden’s second trip in as many weeks to console a community in loss after a mass shooting.
He traveled to Buffalo, New York, on May 17 to meet with victims’ families and condemn white supremacy after a shooter espousing the racist “replacement theory” killed 10 Black people at a supermarket.
Both shootings and their aftermath put a fresh spotlight on the nation’s entrenched divisions and its inability to forge consensus on actions to reduce gun violence.
“Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died,” Biden said Saturday in a commencement address at the University of Delaware. “We have to stand stronger. We must stand stronger. We cannot outlaw tragedy, I know, but we can make America safer.”
Biden later met with first responders in Texas before his return trip to his home in Delaware.
Biden visited amid mounting scrutiny of the police response.
Officials revealed Friday that students and teachers repeatedly begged 911 operators for help as a police commander told more than a dozen officers to wait in a hallway.
Officials said the commander believed the suspect was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack.
The revelation caused more grief and raised new questions about whether lives were lost because officers did not act faster to stop the gunman, who was ultimately killed by Border Patrol tactical officers.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice said Sunday that it will review the law enforcement response to the Texas school shooting, an unusual federal look back prompted by questions about the shifting and at times contradictory information from authorities that have enraged a community in shock and sorrow.
Department spokesman Anthony Coley said the review would be conducted in a fair, impartial and independent manner and the findings would be made public.
Handling the review is the department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. It was not clear how the review would be conducted, whether law enforcement officials could be compelled to cooperate in the review and when it might be completed.
“It’s easy to point fingers right now,” said Ronnie Garza, a Uvalde County commissioner, on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” before adding, “Our community needs to focus on healing right now.”
Mckinzie Hinojosa, whose cousin Eliahana Torres was killed Tuesday, said she respected Biden’s decision to mourn with the people of Uvalde.
“It’s more than mourning,” she said. “We want change. We want action. It continues to be something that happens over and over and over. A mass shooting happens. It’s on the news. People cry. Then it’s gone. Nobody cares. And then it happens again. And again.”
Authorities have said the shooter legally purchased two guns not long before the school attack: an Ar-style rifle May 17 and a second rifle May 20. He had just turned 18, permitting him to buy the weapons under federal law.
In Congress, a bipartisan group of senators talked over the weekend to see if the lawmakers could reach even a modest compromise on gun safety legislation after a decade of mostly failed efforts.