Almost six months after the killing spree at an elementary school in the US state of Texas, there have been further personnel consequences. Uvalde’s chief of police, who was in office at the time of the massacre, resigned yesterday, according to CNN and other media, citing the town’s mayor. The school district police chief was fired in August.
An 18-year-old gunman shot dead 19 children and two teachers at the elementary school at the end of May. The attacker shot his victims in two connected classrooms with an assault rifle. In addition to the crime itself, dramatic omissions during the police operation also caused bewilderment: Only more than 75 minutes after the shooter opened fire, emergency services entered the classroom and killed him.
Relatives accused the police that they could have saved lives if they had not waited so long. Recently released audio recordings suggest that the police chief in Uvalde was informed half an hour before the police entered the classroom that there were children in the classroom where the shooter lived. The city council was supposed to decide on his dismissal in a special session next Saturday.
