Uvalde Residents Camping Outside School District Demand Police Suspensions For Robb Elementary Shooting Response

Brett Cross is camping outside Uvalde’s school district offices in a protest designed to hold five local police officers accountable for their delayed action during the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School.

Cross lost his 10-year old nephew, Uziyah Garcia in the tragedy. He began protesting Sep. 27 and has since been joined by a number of other Uvalde families who are equally devastated and frustrated by the police’s lack of action, according to the Texas Tribune. “I am asking … get these officers off of these campuses until it is proved whether or not they were justified in sitting outside of the classroom for 77 minutes,” Cross said, according to the Texas Tribune.

Cross has protested for over 200 hours and refuses to leave until the officers are suspended.

Cross is mourning the loss of his nephew, which is more difficult knowing that police stood by for over an hour leaving an 18-year-old shooter to execute his massacre, according to Texas Tribune. Cross spends the nights alone in front of the building and is often joined by his wife during the day. She has placed 19 school backpacks and two totes in front of the building to commemorate the 19 children and two teachers who lost their lives in the shooting.

Locals often come and bring food and drinks to Cross, who remains outdoors despite the smoldering heat.

“The families get together. We laugh. We cry. We tell stories,” Cross said,” according to the Texas Tribune.(RELATED: Public Safety Director Admits Police Error In Texas School Shooting As He Reveals Children Repeatedly Called 9-1-1)

19 children’s backpacks. Two teachers totes. All placed outside the front doors of the administration building. These lives are who we are fighting for and I’m gonna make damn sure that this administration remembers them. pic.twitter.com/KlLjJq0lmd

— Brett Cross (@BCross052422) October 4, 2022

Superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, Hal Harrell, met with Cross during his third day of protest to explain that for security reasons, he cannot afford to suspend the officers, according to the Texas Tribune.

“We do not condone this group’s behavior and are seeking to end the disruption,” Harrell wrote in a letter to district families September 30, according to the Texas Tribune.

Former Uvalde CISD police Chief Pete Arredondo was fired Aug. 24. The U.S. Department of Justice, a Texas House Committee, the Uvalde County District Attorney, and JPPI Investigations have all launched their own investigations and independent reviews into the officers’ conduct during the shooting, according to the Texas Tribune.

Cross demands more action and shows no signs of leaving until he sees evidence of the suspension.