A8 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAY, MAY 28 , 2022
Texas school shootingpass the Republican-controlled House, the proposal languished, as
Republican leaders said they would prefer that the White House
regulate bump stocks rather than have Congress pass a law.2018 : After 17 students and staff were killed
at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Fla.
What lawmakers tried: Congress held no votes on gun control,
even though a massive protest held in Washington, D.C., led by
survivors of the shooting drew national attention and made gun
control a major issue in the midterm elections.
The outcome: Trump initially expressed support for a broad range of
gun-control measures, like background checks, but quickly backed
away from those under pressure from pro-gun groups. His
administration ended up banning bump stocks, a move so nominal
that even gun-control groups barely count it as a win, because even
the NRA agreed that bump stocks should be regulated.
Republicans in Florida, however, passed a law raising the legal age
for buying rifles. It was the first time in recent history that a
Republican-controlled state limited the general population’s access
to guns.201 9: After gunman who later said he was
targeting “Mexicans” killed 23 people, mostly
Latino, by shooting up a Walmart in El Paso
What lawmakers tried: House Democrats took up and passed an
expansive background check bill. It was the strongest gun-control
legislation to pass a legislative chamber in more than a decade.
The outcome: It didn’t become law. The legislation never came up
for a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate. House Democrats
passed similar background-check proposals again in 2021 after
Democrats gained control of the Senate, but so far, they haven’t
received a vote because the bills will fail to clear a Republican
filibuster.202 2: After 10 people were killed in a grocery
store in a mostly Black neighborhood in
Buffalo
What lawmakers tried: Democrats reasoned that no gun-control
measure had a chance of breaking a Republican filibuster in the
Senate. So they focused on something else: expanding the
government’s ability to investigate domestic terrorism, which the FBI
says is a rising threat.
The outcome: The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House but
Senate Republicans blocked it, arguing it was too soon to address
recent mass shootings and that the proposals could lead to
“targeting” of conservatives.
— Amber Phillips2013: After 20 first-graders and six adults
were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary
What lawmakers tried: To expand background checks to gun
shows and online sales, and to ban assault weapons and high-
capacity magazines. It was the most thorough gun-control legislation
to come up for a vote in the Senate in years.
The outcome: This, coming four months after the 2012 shooting,
was the high point of the gun-control debate in Congress, and it
didn’t result in any new laws. Fifty-five senators supported expanding
background checks, including four Republicans. But it wasn’t enough
to overcome a 60-vote filibuster threshold. Votes to ban assault
weapons and high-capacity magazines also failed, earning 40 and
46 votes, respectively. A vote to loosen gun laws — requiring states to
recognize other states’ concealed carry permits — got the most votes
of the day, at 57.
The Senate has never again attempted such a comprehensive vote
on gun legislation, and almost all of the Republicans who voted for it
are no longer in the Senate or will retire after this year.201 6: After 49 people were killed at the Pulse
nightclub in Orlando
What lawmakers tried: Lawmakers considered making it illegal for
people on the FBI’s various terrorist watch lists to buy guns. The
shooter was briefly on one of these watch lists and legally able to buy
guns.
The outcome: Democratic and Republicans offered different
versions of this legislation; they it all failed in the Senate. Votes to
expand background checks also failed. The votes in the Republican-
controlled Senate came after Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) held the
Senate floor for 15 hours to demand them. In the House of
Representatives, Democrats staged a 26-hour sit-in on the House
floor to try to force Republican leaders to hold votes. It didn’t work. A
similar proposal to close the terrorist gun loophole and expand
background checks failed in the Senate in 2015 after 14 co-workers
were killed during a training session in San Bernardino, Calif., by a
husband and wife who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.201 7: After nearly 60 people were killed in
minutes at a Las Vegas country music concert
What they tried: This was the first major mass shooting in a decade
that occurred under a Republican-controlled White House and
Congress. Democrats and Republicans introduced bills to ban bump
stocks, a gun accessory that makes semiautomatic weapons fire
more like a battlefield machine gun. The Las Vegas gunman fired
more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition to inflict maximum carnage
on the concert. President Donald Tr ump and even the National Rifle
Association supported the idea.
The outcome: Even though it appeared to have enough support toLegislative efforts after mass shootingsthere were children and adults
making 911 calls to “please send
the police,” McCraw replied,
“We’re well aware of that,” before
reiterating the mistake made by
authorities.
“The on-scene commander
considered it a barricaded sub-
ject and that no more children
were at risk,” he said. “Obviously,
based upon the information we
have, there were more children at
risk and not a barricaded sub-
ject.”
McCraw identified the on-
scene commander as Pete Arre-
dondo, the chief of police for the
Uvalde Consolidated Independ-
ent School District. Arredondo
did not respond to a request for
comment Friday. McCraw said it
was unclear whether he will face
any discipline, and appeared to
deflect blame.
“It’s his school, he’s the chief of
police,” McCraw said.
As further details on the wait
for help have emerged, anger over
the shooting has grown.
Cazares, the grandmother, said
she is livid that police did not
move faster. She has been watch-
ing Univision nonstop since Tues-
day to stay abreast of the re-
sponse from local police and the
Te xas public safety agency. DPS
officials have been “trying to de-
fend themselves by saying they
were here at a certain time,” she
said. But their response — and
their lack of willingness to listen
— has only further incensed the
community.
“They’re only hearing what po-
lice are telling him,” she said of
the officials at the podium. “Not
what parents or regular people
are saying.”
At the news conference Friday,
McCraw, who at one point cried,
was asked whether the parents of
the victims are owed an apology.
He said that he knew an apology
wouldn’t help after a tragedy of
this magnitude.
“If I thought it would help,” he
said, “I’d apologize.”Bella and Bellware reported from
Washington.18, first entered Robb Elementary
School at 11:33 a.m. and when he
was shot, at about 12:50 p.m. — a
period of time that has sparked
outrage across the nation, and
especially in the rural Te xas town
where parents clamored outside
for police to go in and save their
children.
“The time they took to take
action is unacceptable,” said
Agustina Cazares, whose grand-
son and great-granddaughter,
both 8 years old, attend the
school and survived. “It was only
thanks to God that my family was
saved.”
The 911 calls disclosed Friday
shed light on the agonizing wait
for help inside two adjoining
classrooms during that time:
Rooms 111 and 112. McCraw said
two students made calls from
those rooms during the shooting.
“I’ll warn you,” he said, shuf-
fling through his papers at a
podium fixed with a bevy of
microphones, “it’s better that I
read it than you listen to it.”
The first call came in at
12:03 p.m. Tuesday, roughly a
half-hour after the shooting be-
gan, McCraw said. A female stu-
dent identified herself and told
the dispatcher what room she
was in. She called back several
times again over the next 13
minutes, offering officials infor-
mation clearly indicating that
there were multiple people dead.
“A t 12:16, she called back and
said there was eight to nine stu-
dents alive,” he said.
A second call placed by a stu-
dent in an adjoining classroom
came in at 1 2:19 p.m. By that time,
according to the timeline author-
ities offered Friday, a specialized
Border Patrol tactical unit had
already arrived at the school.
“She hung up when another
student told her to hang up,”
McCraw told reporters.
Another call came in three
minutes later. On this one, he
said, the sound of three gunshots
can be heard.
By 12:36 p.m., the initial caller
dialed 911 again. The student was
told to “stay on the line and to be
very quiet,” the DPS director said.
The student reportedly told the
dispatcher that “he shot the
door,” and hung up after 21 sec-
onds.
Minutes later, the child called
to plead: “Please send the police
now.”
McCraw paused.
The next calls coincide with
when authorities say officers en-
tered the classroom — more than
an hour after Ramos’s arrival on
campus — and shot him.
“A t 12:51, it’s very loud and it
sounds like officers are moving
children out of the room,” he said.
“By that time, the first child was
out before the call cuts off.”
Both the students who called
for help survived, McCraw said.
At least one of the 911 calls
made by the children is believed
to have been from 11-year-old
Miah Cerrillo, who survived the
shooting after witnessing her
teacher, Eva Mireles, being shot
to death. Her father, Miguel Cer-
rillo, told The Washington Post
that after Mireles was shot and
her phone slipped from her hand,
Miah grabbed it and called 911.
Once outside the school,
Miah’s parents said they pan-
icked after seeing their daughter
covered in blood. Miah told them:
“I’m okay. It’s not my blood.”
One of her classmates was shot
and bleeding, Miah told her fa-
ther; she decided to lie on top of
her so the gunman would think
they were both dead.
McCraw faced a barrage of
questions from reporters trying
to piece together a timeline and a
response that’s been muddled in
recent days. When one journalist
reminded the DPS director that
CALLS FROM A
Students called 911
repeatedly asking
for police to come
JOSHUA LOTT/THE WASHINGTON POSTLEFT: Eliana Valdez, 7, of San
Antonio holds a candle at a
memorial in the town square of
Uvalde, Tex. B ELOW: Law
enforcement officers listen at a
news conference Friday. At one
point during the shooting,
according to Texas Department
of Public Safety Director S teven
C. McCraw, 19 officers were
waiting outside a classroom for
a key from the janitor: “With
the benefit of hindsight, of
course, it was not the right
decision.”“The time they took to take action
is unacceptable. It was only thanks
to God that my family was saved.”
Agustina Cazares, whose grandson and great-granddaughter,
both 8 years old, attend the school and survived
SARAH L. VOISIN/THE WASHINGTON POST