UVALDE, Texas — Monday’s tragedy at a private school in Nashville reignited painful memories for families of loved ones who died in the Robb Elementary shooting 10 months ago.
“The only thing that I did get was a text to my wife and I from Gloria Cazares, and some of her words in there kind of shocked me, including that there’s another mass shooting and she’s just at a loss of words and hurting yet again,” said Manuel Rizo, the uncle of 9-year-old Jackie Cazares, one of 19 children killed alongside two teachers on May 24, 2022.
Nashville police took down the shooter who opened fire at a private Christian school within 14 minutes of receiving the initial call. Officials say the 28-year-old assailant shot and killed three children and three adults before being neutralized.
That timeline is in stark contrast to what happened in Uvalde, when nearly 400 law enforcement officers waited 77 minutes before taking down the 18-year-old gunman.
“14 minutes is still a long time. I think that, as a comparison to 77 minutes, you can just imagine the Uvalde children who were dying waiting for help,” Rizo said.
Months of scrutiny and demand for accountability followed, leading to a revamped Uvalde CISD police force and the firing of Texas DPS officers.
Rizo is among dozens of family members continuing to fight for change and accountability on the local, state and federal levels.
Working alongside State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, victims’ families have pushed for raising the age to purchase assault-style rifles from 18 to 21 and enacting so-called extreme risk protective orders to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who pose a danger to others and themselves.
Governor Greg Abbott has stressed raising the age to purchase assault-style rifle guns would be unconstitutional.
Other bills call for creating a $300 million compensation fund for the victims’ families and closing gun-show loopholes.
State Rep. Dustin Burrows filed HB 3, which would require at least one armed security guard at every public school campus in Texas.
“When minutes and seconds count, this individual – highly trained and well-armed – will be ready to actively engage a person looking to murder students and teachers,” Burrow said in an address to lawmakers.
Rizo noted that “anything is better than nothing at all,” but he believes such solutions don’t solve the real issue, which he believes comes down to the guns.
“The officers that are there, security guards, still have to have the courage to go in or prevent the intruder from coming into the school,” Rizo said. “The long term (goal) for us is going to be focusing on the justice for Jackie and her friends and the two teachers, and frankly anybody else who’s lost somebody to gun violence."
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