Following increased uproar from Uvalde parents, school authorities fired an ex-Texas state trooper who responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting and was hired by the school system after 19 students and 2 teachers were slain.
CNN claimed that Crimson Elizondo, who resigned from the Texas Department of Public Safety following the May 24 attack, was hired by the Uvalde school system in the wake of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
Elizondo was one of more than 90 state troopers and roughly 400 law enforcement officials that went to Robb Elementary during the atrocity, but waited more than an hour before confronting a shooter with an AR-15-style rifle inside a fourth-grade classroom.
CNN claimed that in police body camera footage, Elizondo can be heard telling other officers at the Robb Elementary scene: “I would not have been outside if my son had been inside. I assure you of this.”
The sign for Robb Elementary School is covered with flowers and gifts on June 17, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas, following a mass shooting at the school. Getty Pictures
In a statement released on Thursday, the school district did not address whether Uvalde school officials knew Elizondo was at the scene of the attack or was involved, but said officials were “deeply distressed by the information that was disclosed last night regarding one of our recently hired employees.”
It stated, “We profoundly apologize to the families of the victims and the entire Uvalde community for the grief this discovery has caused.”
Officials stated that “Elizondo’s statement on the recording is inconsistent with the district’s standards” without confirming the particular content.
Thursday, a district official did not immediately respond to queries.
Families gathered outside the administrative office of the Uvalde Independent School District hours before the dismissal to protest the hiring.
“The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s (UCISD) decision to hire Officer Crimson Elizondo disgusts and angers us. Her hiring calls into doubt the veracity and completeness of UCISD’s human resources and screening procedures “A statement from some of the families of the victims stated. “This proves what we’ve been saying all along: UCISD is not in the business of protecting the safety of our children at school and never has been.”
In July, a damning investigation criticized “very poor judgment” by law enforcement personnel who waited more than an hour before addressing the 18-year-old shooter. Pete Arredondo, the campus police chief, was fired in August.
State Senator Roland Gutierrez, whose district includes Uvalde, described Elizondo’s employment as a “slap in the face” to the town.
“Within two minutes of the shooter’s arrival, a DPS trooper failed to follow training, protocol, and their sworn duty,” he stated. Children perished because DPS officers failed to perform their duties.
Thursday, a DPS representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment