Families Still Seek Answers 1 Year After Uvalde School Shooting

Andrea Herrera faces the daily struggle that comes with surviving the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. She confronts the lingering aftermath of the tragic incident, where she not only bore witness to the event that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers but also the loss of her 10-year-old stepbrother, Jose Flores, who tragically lost his life in the adjacent classroom.

“It just goes in my mind in loops, like the same thing over and over again,” Herrera [not pictured], according to CBS News said of the Uvalde school shooting, which has now been a year.

Families Still Seek Answers 1 Year After Uvalde School Shooting — Twitter

Andrea’s heart shattered when she received the news of Flores’ passing, leaving her overwhelmed with sorrow. She can’t help but imagine the fear he must have experienced within the walls of the classroom. Cynthia, Andrea’s mother, shares that her daughter’s mental well-being and academic performance have steadily deteriorated since the tragedy.

While the Herrera family has considered the idea of moving away, the memory of Flores acts as an emotional tether, keeping them in Uvalde.

Tensions have yet again risen as the families of the victims strive for increased accountability regarding that fateful day. The district has since invested millions of dollars to improve security in all public school campuses, including fencing and 600 security cameras but some families are still not delighted with the progress achieved so far.

Brett Cross, who lost his 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia has refused to give up his fight for answers. He has spearheaded efforts at the local, state, and federal levels, urging accountability for the failures that occurred that day. “If I stop, I’m useless,” Cross said. “Uvalde doesn’t want to be known as Uvalde anymore, you know they don’t want it to be, ‘Oh, we’re known for Robb Elementary.’

Cross as per CBS added, ‘But the fact is, is that you are, because our school failed. Because our cops failed. Because our government failed. And you want me to stop? I’ve lost the kid. I ain’t got anything else to lose.’ One of the failures is reportedly the delayed response by law enforcement as it took 376 officers from over 20 agencies about 77 minutes to breach the classroom door and stop the shooter.

Cross said of the delayed response, ‘It’s “infuriating” to be policed by the same officers who were there the day of the shooting. There were officers in there that could have ended it. But were told to stand down. And they listened. And then you see them, you get pulled over by them. It’s infuriating … because now I’m looking into the eyes of somebody that heard our children screaming, that heard the gunman reload and didn’t rush in there.’

However, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin has recently hired an assistant police chief from outside the town. And like the families of the victims, he also awaits the results of the local district attorney’s criminal investigation. He said, ‘As mayor and I think I speak for the county judge, too, I’m not gonna just throw everything at the DA. But in one year’s time, I’ve had not one briefing, not one,’ adding that the delay in receiving updates from the district attorney’s office left him disheartened.