On the eve of President Joe Biden’s visit, America on Saturday discovered the first testimonies of children who survived the Uvalde massacre, describing the horrors at this school in Texas where a gunman killed 19 children students and 2 teachers. .
The other day, Texas authorities made their mea culpa, admitting that police took a bad decision in not entering the building quickly.
It was about an hour on Tuesday before police ended the massacre, despite several calls from children asking for intervention. The 19 agents at the site are waiting to be attacked by a special unit.
Inside, the children were detained along with the nearly 18 -year -old who was shot.
Upon entering the room, the latter closed the door, told the children: You will all diebefore firing, a survivor Samuel Salinas, 10, told the ABC channel on Friday.
I think he was targeting me, the child testified, but was blocked by a seat between him and the shooter. In the room on the floor full of blood, Samuel Salinas tried, so as not to be targeted by gunfire. pretend to be dead.
Miah Cerrillo, 11, tried to escape the killer’s attention in the same way. The girl wrapped herself in the blood of a companion, whose corpse was next to her, she explained to CNN, in unfiltered testimony.
Only now did he see the young man kill his teacher, after telling him good night.
Another student, Daniel, told the newspaper Washington Post that while the victims waited for the police to arrive to rescue them, no one shouted.
” I was scared and stressed, because I was about to be hit by bullets. “
Her teacher, who was injured in the attack but survived, whispered to the students stay calm and no Don’t move.
One child, who was also hit by a bullet, gently asked the teacher to call the police, saying he is bleeding profuselyDaniel reports, unable to sleep alone and having nightmares.
The children survived has been traumatized, and they will have to live with it for the rest of their livessaid his mother Briana Ruiz.
Samuel Salinas also said he had nightmares, in which he saw the shooter. The thought of going back to school, or even seeing your classmates, is still scary. I can not waithe assured, and added that he wanted to stay home And this rest.
Testimonies of unity
In Uvalde, several dozen people gathered on Saturday morning in the central square, which became the place of salute to the victims. Of the 21 crosses now standing there (one for each victim), we can read I like you where miss you.
Residents leave flowers, stuffed animals, messages for students and the two teachers. And think of the survivors as well.
” We need to help these children get out of the trauma, of this disease. “
The testimonies of the survivors only intensified the controversy surrounding the police reaction.
Journalists are struggling to explain their much -criticized response time, Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday that law enforcement believes that there may be no survivors.
However, police received numerous calls from people in the two affected classrooms, including one from a child at 12.16 pm, more than half an hour before the police intervention at 12.50 pm, warning that eight to nine students are alivesaid Mr. McCraw.
Visit of the president
On Sunday, the President of the United States and his wife Jill Biden will travel to Uvalde, to share the mourning of the inhabitants of this small town who have been disturbed by one of the worst massacres by guns in recent years in the country.
” You can’t make dramas illegal, I know that. But we can make America safer. “
Saturday in the same speech, he said he regretted it in so many places, so many innocent people died.
Its vice president, Kamala Harris, was at the funeral of one of 10 African-American victims killed in mid-May in a racist shooting in Buffalo, New York. We will not allow those motivated by hatred to separate or frighten ushis hammer.
The shooting in Uvalde reawakened the traumas of America. The faces of the very young victim, aged 9 to 11, were repeatedly broadcast on television, and the testimonies of their fallen relatives mobilized the country, re-launching a wave of calls. for better regulation of guns.
The Democratic president, who regularly criticized theepidemic gun violence, so far has failed to pass comprehensive legislation on the issue.
Source: Radio-Canada
