UVALDE, Texas – The family members of children killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting criticized the school for neglecting security procedures.
"They need to start putting a lot of security, more than what they have right now," said Gilda Lopez, the grandmother of Xavier Lopez, a 10-year-old slain during the Texas shooting. "Look what happened. We lost an angel."
Salvador Ramos entered the school through an apparently unlocked door before entering a fourth-grade classroom and killing 19 children and two teachers, authorities said Thursday.
Fourth-grader Xavier Lopez, 10, was killed when a gunman broke into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24, 2022. (Courtesy of the family. (Fox News/Paul Best))
"They didn't follow procedure," said Joe Villarreal, a relative of Xavier Lopez and Tess Mata, who was also killed. "They didn't follow what the school guidelines are."
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"What happened to security?" he told Fox News.
Security is "supposed to be out there with the kids all the time," Joe Villarreal continued. "When they come back in they got to make sure the doors are locked."
Xavier Lopez's grandfather, Guadalupe Lopez, said Ramos "should have never even got there."
Tess Mata, one of the victims of the mass shooting Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, is seen in this undated photo obtained from social media. Courtesy of Tess Mata's Family/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. (Reuters)
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Another relative of Xavier Lopez and Mata, Veronica Villarreal, made similar remarks.
"I don't understand exactly what happened, but I think that they should have gone ahead and secured that back door," she told Fox News.
The suspect walked into the school and was not confronted by a school resource officer, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Victor Escalon said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. The school usually has an armed officer, but on Tuesday, "there was not an officer, readily available armed," Escalon said.
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Once inside the building, the gunman walked into a hallway and made his way into a classroom, Escalon told press.
"Four minutes later, local police departments, Uvalde Police Department, the Independent School District Police Department are inside, making entry," he said. "They hear gunfire, they take rounds, they move back, get cover. And during that time, they approach where the suspect is at."
Guadalupe and Gilda Lopez criticized Robb Elementary School for breaking security protocols ahead of the Uvalde, Texas, shooting. (Lisa Bennatan/Fox News Digital)
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Xavier Lopez's grandparents simultaneously told Fox News the 10-year-old "always had a big smile."
He was "always helping his dad do the yard and everything," Gilda Lopez said. "He enjoyed all that."
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