It must be like a fever or something, but the more we learn about the Uvalde, Texas, massacre in which 19 children and two teachers were slaughtered, the fewer questions elected officials and others want to answer.
The main problem here is that the entire tragedy blows apart the decades-old National Rifle Association myth that all that's needed to stop a bad guy with a gun is "a good guy with a gun." As my Daily Kos colleague Mark Sumner laid out, both the timeline and details about how law enforcement engaged with the shooter and eventually neutralized him have been called into question.
In a new timeline relayed Thursday by Victor Escalon, a regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety, the shooter entered the school at 11:40 a.m., police arrived at 11:44 a.m., and a Border Patrol tactical team finally neutralized the shooter around 12:40 p.m.
That's according to a Wall Street Journal article that also included eyewitness accounts from frustrated parents like Angeli Rose Gomez, who said, "The police were doing nothing." Gomez said she heard about the shooting, drove 40 miles to Robb Elementary School, urged the police to enter the building along with other parents, was handcuffed by federal marshals, was set free, slipped away, jumped the school fence, ran inside the school, and finally led her two children to safety.
To say the least, a lot of people have a lot to answer for. And guess what: Up and down line, they don't take kindly to being questioned.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, for instance, got very testy when asked Thursday why these mass shootings are a uniquely American problem. Cruz tried to walk away from the reporter, who stuck with him until Cruz finally said, "Stop being a propagandist," and left the premises altogether.
Texas Department of Public Safety official Victor Escalon was perhaps more polite but equally as elusive when a CNN reporter questioned the misinformation officials had previously released about the tragedy.
“We’ve been given a lot of bad information, so why don’t you clear all of this up now and explain to us how your officers were in there for an hour, but yet no one was able to get inside that room?” asked CNN's Shimon Prokupecz.
Escalon assured Prokupecz that he heard his question and would "circle back," then promptly ended the press conference.
A gaggle of reporters were also shut out of a press conference Wednesday being given by Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott after they dared to follow Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke out of the building when he interrupted Abbott's press conference.
And then there's the Financial Times and former BBC reporter who tried to talk to the gun store, Oasis Outback, that reportedly sold the guns and ammunition to the Uvalde shooter.
"Was stopped in parking lot by management," Dave Lee tweeted. "It’s open but I’m not allowed in. Asked why… 'You have a notepad… and an accent.'"
Lee likely had a British accent, resulting in that charming, "You ain't from 'round here," response.
The New York Times confirmed that Oasis Outback is cooperating with authorities.
A lot of important questions remain to be answered, particularly about how law enforcement responded. The more we learn, the more sickening the story gets, and the less anyone wants to answer for why 19 fourth graders and two teachers were left to fend for themselves at Robb Elementary School for nearly an hour.
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