Mom who saved her own kids from Uvalde massacre says she's now being harassed by police



A Texas mom celebrated for rushing into the site of the Uvalde elementary school massacre said that she is being harassed by police and had to move her children for their safety.

Angeli Rose Gomez said that she has been threatened by police and has faced increased scrutiny after she spoke to the media about how she saved her children.

In a media briefing on Sunday with her lawyer, Gomez detailed her experiences during an announcement that she was seeking to file several lawsuits over the massacre and the police response.

"The other night we were exercising and we had a cop parked at the corner like, flickering us with his headlights," Gomez said.

She had also previously claimed that a police officer had called her and warned that she might be in violation of her probation from an arrest a decade ago if she kept speaking to the media. She only began speaking to the media after being reassured by a judge that she would not be violation of her probation.

Gomez went on to say that she had moved her children in order to avoid the intimidation and harassment from police.

"Just so my sons don't feel like they have to watch cops passing by, stopping, and parking," she explained.

Mark Di Carlo, her attorney, said that he was representing about 15 parents of the Uvalde community.

"The fact that [Uvalde School Police Chief] Pete Arredondo wasn't fired immediately based upon whatever it is, hours of video, from testimonies such as from Angeli, is an indication that there is some sort of what, corruption or wrongdoing," he said to reporters.

Gomez has been praised for her defiance of police orders in order to save her children on the day of the massacre.

She said that she had been briefly handcuffed by police who were preventing her from entering the school as the gunman was barricaded into a classroom. When she was released she hopped a fence to gain entry onto school grounds twice and saved her children.

Uvale law enforcement has faced scathing criticism over the choice to wait outside the barricaded room while the gunman continued to shoot and kill children.

Here's more about her plans to sue over the massacre:

EXCLUSIVE :Uvalde mom who rescued sons during mass shooting now planning to sue over police responsewww.youtube.com

House Democrats want to probe role Border Patrol played in Uvalde response: 'This tragedy raises questions'



House Democrats revealed Thursday they want to investigate the Border Patrol over the role its agents played in the Uvalde school massacre response.

What is the background?

Members of the Border Patrol tactical unit, known as BORTAC, arrived at Robb Elementary School about an hour after the gunman began his rampage inside. Local officers told the operators to help assist with evacuating children from the school, NBC News reported.

But after local police refused to enter the school to confront the gunman, the Border Patrol agents led a group of law enforcement inside the school, where they finally confronted the killer. A BORTAC agent is credited with neutralizing the killer.

Agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations were also on scene.

What did House Dems say?

House Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking him to explain the Border Patrol's role in the Uvalde response.

"While details surrounding the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School are still emerging, it has been reported that U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) agents and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents brought this deadly incident to an end when they contravened local law enforcement’s decision not to engage and entered the classroom and killed the shooter," the letter stated.

The Democrats claimed they "commend" the law enforcement agents who responded to end the massacre and prevented further loss of life, but they also noted what they believe is an issue that needs to be addressed.

They explained:

At the same time, this tragedy raises questions about what authorities and responsibilities DHS personnel have in such situations, what agreements are in place related to the Department’s law enforcement personnel providing support to State and local law enforcement agencies, and whether the Department intends to bolster its school security efforts beyond existing initiatives like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s School Safety and Security resources and the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center’s work on targeted school violence.

It's not yet clear when the committee will convene for its briefing. Mayorkas has not yet responded to the letter.

'Obviously ... it was the wrong decision': Texas DPS chief admits fatal police error in Uvalde school shooting



Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw admitted Friday that police in Uvalde, Texas, made a fatal error in judgement during Tuesday's mass shooting event at Robb Elementary School, waiting outside for backup instead of rushing in to confront the gunman.

“Obviously, based on the information we have, there were children in that classroom that were still at risk,” McCraw said. “From the benefit of hindsight where I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision. Period.”

\u201cTexas Department of Public Safety Col. Steven McCraw on the decision to not immediately breach the classroom door: \u201cFrom the benefit of hindsight, where I\u2019m sitting now, of course, it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision, period. There\u2019s no excuse for that\u2026\u201d\u201d
— CNN (@CNN) 1653671377

Speaking at a press conference, McCraw revealed new details about the massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead. The local police have faced mounting criticism over their response to the active shooter situation, particularly from parents who accused officers of "doing nothing" while the gunman was inside the school.

"We're here to report facts as we know them now. Not to defend what was done or to criticize what was done or the actions taken," McCraw said.

According to the director, video evidence reveals that at 11:27 a.m. local time, a teacher had propped open an exterior door that police suspected the gunman used to enter the building.

At 11:28 a.m., the shooter crashed his vehicle in a ditch outside the school, exited, and then began firing at two males from a nearby funeral home who had come to investigate the crash. He did not hit either of the two men.

At 11:30 a.m., the teacher re-emerged from inside the school "in panic" and called 911 to report the car crash and a man with a gun.

By 11:31 a.m., the shooter had reached "the last row of vehicles" in the parking lot and started firing at the school building from outside.

Earlier reports that a school resource officer had confronted the gunman outside the building were inaccurate, McCraw said. That officer "was not on scene" at the time, but had "heard the 911 call" and "drove immediately to the area."

McCraw said the officer "sped to what he thought was the man with a gun at the back of the school that turned out to be a teacher, and not the suspect. In doing so he drove right by the suspect, who was hunkered down behind a vehicle where he began shooting at the school."

At 11:33 a.m., the gunman used the propped-open door to enter the building. McCraw said that audio evidence indicates the suspect fired more than 100 rounds after entering the school.

Three officers from the Uvalde police department went to the same door as the suspect at 11:35 a.m., and two received "grazing wounds" from the suspect while the door was closed, McCraw said. They were followed by four more officers, including a county sheriff, who responded to the scene.

Gunfire was heard intermittently during this time. At some point, the shooter had entered a classroom, where he massacred the children.

By 12:03 p.m. there were as many as 19 officers on scene and in the school hallway, McCraw said. The suspect fired again at 12:21 p.m. and was believed to be at the door of the classroom.

Law enforcement moved down the hallway and at 12:50 p.m. breached the classroom door using keys obtained from a janitor. At that time, they confronted and killed the suspect, the director said.

McCraw also shared new details about 911 calls made by students, including one who repeatedly asked the dispatcher to "please send police now."

\u201cA girl who was inside one of the classrooms where the gunman opened fire called 911 several times during the siege, Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety says.\n\n\u201cPlease send the police now,\u201d she said at one point.\u201d
— CBS News (@CBS News) 1653669177

McCraw said the gunman was found to have a history of discussing school shootings and buying a gun in Instagram chats in February and March of this year. In September 2021, he asked his sister to help him buy a weapon, but she refused.

Facing questions from reporters on why it took nearly an hour to stop the shooter, McCraw said police mistakenly believed the situation had changed from an "active shooter to a barricaded subject."

"The on-scene commander considered a barricaded subject and that there was time and that there were no more children at risk," McCraw said.

Police thought there was time to retrieve the classroom keys and wait for a tactical team with equipment to breach the door and take on the subject, McCraw said.

"The decision was made on the scene."