Relatives of children murdered in Uvalde camp in protest against the direction of the investigations

Four months after the massacre in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, parents of murdered students undertook a protest that lasted more than 48 uninterrupted hours. The demonstration began this Tuesday morning in front of the offices of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD).

The relatives demand that the school district investigate and suspend school police officers that took 77 minutes to respond to the massacre. The late response of the five officers mentioned is one of the reasons why the shooting left a balance of 19 students and two teachers killed, family members accuse.

Camped in front of the school district facilities were: Gloria Cazares, mother of Jackie Cazares, as well as Brett and Nikki Cross, legal guardians of Uziyah García.

The Texas Department of Public Safety and the United States Department of Justice launched an investigation against their respective security forces. UCISD SuperintendentHal Harrell assured that school police officers are already being investigated, however, refuses to suspend them as requested by the families of the victims.

Because of his position, Harrell is the one in command of the school guards.

According to an investigation by the Texas House of Representatives, 376 officers from various law enforcement agencies responded to the shooting before the shooter was killed. security elements they waited more than an hour to confront Salvador Rolando Ramos, the 18-year-old murderer.

15 minutes shy of 48 hours.
18 weeks and 2 days.
77 minutes that 376 officers waited
19 children.
2 Teachers.
1 loving and devoted husband.

These are the numbers that UCISD does not care about. The only numbers they do care about have $$ in front of them.#RememberTheirNames pic.twitter.com/urHAyDYE8I

— Brett Cross (@BCross052422) September 29, 2022

When the first 77 minutes of the protest were over, Gloria Cazares, Jackie's mother, confronted school district officials, letting them know that the time she had been demonstrating is the same time that the police officers were slow to respond to the shooting.

“77 minutes was thrownbled to death in front of his friends, and then he died in the hospital,” the mother said as a police officer blocked her way to the school offices.

After 12 hours of parents demanding to speak to UCISD Superintendent Hal Harrell, officials came out of the office to put up signs saying only people with appointments will be seen. Also, restricted access to the press.

During the early hours of this Wednesday, Texas police were present at the demonstration, where he threatened one of the parents to remove the bed in which he camped.

In a live video shared by Brett Cross, a Texas police officer is heard order him to remove the bed in which he slept.

Cross responded angrily to the command: "Do I have 77 minutes to remove the bed?" "Nope. You don't have 77 minutes, you have two," answered the security element.

A day and a half after the protest began, relatives projected on the facade of the Uvalde school district images and videos of the children who died in the shooting.

This Thursday morning 49 hours after the demonstration began, Superintendent Hal Harrell received Brett Cross in his office. The father complained to the superintendent about the lack of transparency that having unilateral meetings means when the relatives' demand was a meeting with everyone.

In the video, the legal guardian of Uziyah García can be seen asking Harrell why hasn't he suspended the officers who took 77 minutes to respond to the shooting.

"An investigation is underway, but we need the police," the superintendent replied. To which Brett reverted: “How can you care so little? How come they have no compassion?.

Experts have expressed concern about the Uvalde case, since non-white communitieslike the Hispanic majority in Uvalde, face major challenges for access to justice.

The 19 primary school students murdered in Uvalde are:

• Nevaeh Alyssa Bravo, age 10
• Jacklyn Cazares, age 9
• Makenna Lee Elrod, age 10
• Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10 years old
• Eliahna Garcia, 10 years old
• Uziyah Garcia, 8 years old
• Amerie Jo Garza, age 10
• Xavier Lopez, 10 years old
• Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10 years old
• Tess Mata, age 10
• Miranda Mathis, 11 years old
• Alithia Ramirez, 10 years old
• Annabelle Rodriguez, age 10
• Maite Rodriguez, 10 years old
• Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, age 10
• Layla Salazar, 11 years old
• Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10 years old
• Elijah Cruz Torres, 10 years old
• Rojelio Torres, 10 years old

The teachers who lost their lives are Irma García, 48, and Eva Mirele, 44.

(With information from Brandon Celaya)