On Sunday evening, as temperatures topped out at a withering 104 degrees, some 500 demonstrators gathered in southwest Uvalde at Robb Elementary School—the site, 47 days prior, of the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, which left 19 elementary-age children and two teachers dead. Out front sprawled a memorial to the lives stolen: a collage of weathered stuffed animals, crosses, letters, and flowers.
Vicente Salazar, who lost his 4th-grade granddaughter Layla Salazar—who loved music and the Dallas Cowboys—addressed a throng of reporters. “We have to have change in our Texas government … change the policies, change our representatives and everything,” he said, demanding that the age of purchase for AR-15-style rifles, like that used by the 18-year-old Uvalde killer, be raised from 18 to 21.
Salazar then turned to the law enforcement response to the shooting. “It’s a joke; I could’ve did a better job myself if I’d been able to get through their lines,” he said, explaining that he was among the many incensed Uvaldeans who were forbidden to cross a police perimeter line while cops took 77 minutes to kill the shooter. The delayed response has enraged the local community and drawn condemnation from law enforcement experts, while state and local officials have worsened the matter by spreading conflicting and false information and denying access to records. “If you’re taking a badge to protect the people, and protect the babies, why didn’t they do it? We still can’t get answers,” Salazar said.
