Following new outrage by Uvalde mother and father, faculty officers abruptly fired a former Texas state trooper who was on the scene of the Robb Elementary College bloodbath after which employed by the college district after the taking pictures that killed 19 youngsters and two lecturers.
The firing Thursday got here after CNN reported that Crimson Elizondo, who resigned from the Texas Division of Public Security after the Could 24 assault, was employed by the Uvalde faculty district following one of many deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. historical past.
Elizondo was amongst greater than 90 state troopers — and almost 400 legislation enforcement officers in all — who rushed to Robb Elementary in the course of the bloodbath however waited greater than an hour to confront a gunman with an AR-15-style rifle taking pictures inside a fourth-grade classroom.
In police physique digicam footage, CNN reported, Elizondo is heard telling different officers on the scene of Robb Elementary: "If my son had been in there, I might not have been exterior. I promise you that."
In a press release Thursday, the college district didn't handle whether or not Uvalde faculty officers knew Elizondo was on the scene of the assault or her involvement, however stated officers had been "deeply distressed by the knowledge that was disclosed yesterday night regarding considered one of our lately employed workers."
"We sincerely apologize to the sufferer's households and the higher Uvalde neighborhood for the ache that this revelation has precipitated," it stated.
Whereas not confirming the precise contents, officers added that "Elizondo's assertion within the audio is just not per the district's expectations."
A district spokesperson didn't instantly return messages Thursday.
Hours earlier than the firing, households had gathered exterior the Uvalde Unbiased College District's administrative workplace to protest the hiring.
"We're disgusted and offended at Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased College District's (UCISD) resolution to rent Officer Crimson Elizondo. Her hiring places into query the credibility and thoroughness of UCISD's HR and vetting practices," a press release from a number of the victims' households stated. "And it confirms what we've got been saying all alongside: UCISD has not and isn't within the enterprise of guaranteeing the protection of our kids in school."
In July, a damning report cited "egregiously poor resolution making" by legislation enforcement officers who waited greater than an hour earlier than confronting the 18-year-old gunman. The campus police chief, Pete Arredondo, was fired in August.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, whose district contains Uvalde, stated Elizondo's hiring "slapped this neighborhood within the face."
"A DPS trooper was on scene inside two minutes of the shooter and did not observe coaching, protocol, and the obligation they had been sworn to," he stated. "Folks's youngsters died as a result of DPS officers did not do their job."
A DPS spokesperson didn't instantly reply to a message searching for remark Thursday.