Texas Governor Greg Abbott was met with an emotional and outraged crowd while visiting the site of the Uvalde school shooting.
On Sunday, Abbott was booed by a crowd of onlookers outside Robb Elementary School. The site was the scene of a tragic massacre last week that claimed the lives of 21 people, including two educators and 19 students in the second, third, and fourth grades. Since then, a massive makeshift memorial has sprouted up. Some people yelled for the governor to change the gun laws, while others berated him with shouts of “shame on you!”
Since the mass shooting, Abbott has caught slack for failing to change gun laws and for his remarks immediately after the tragedy. During a press conference, the Republican governor stated, “it could’ve been worse,” referencing the death toll. He also praised officers for taking down the shooter. However, he admits that he was given inaccurate information about officers’ response time and says he is “livid” that despite a heavy police presence at the school during the shooting, law enforcement did not engage the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, for at least 45 minutes. He was eventually killed by police.
The Justice Department has announced that they will be conducting an investigation into why officers failed to act faster as the massacre was taking place. Abbott has said that new laws will go into effect surrounding mental health, but nothing that will address the matter of stricter gun laws.
“Anyone who suggests we should focus on background checks instead of mental health, I suggest to you it is mistaken,” Abbott said.
