May 24, 2022 started as a regular day in the small Texas town of Uvalde. Parents dropped their children off at Robb Elementary School, said their goodbyes, and fully expected to pick them up that afternoon. But a lone gunman changed that, shattering lives, and leaving 19 children and two adults dead and scores of others wounded in a senseless rampage. While we cannot tell you why this horrific event happened, we’ll cover what’s presently known and how our firm combines compassion with objective advice when we help grieving families through unimaginable tragedy.
Questions Remain as Police Put Together Timeline of Events
Police continue to edit the timeline of events as more details emerge following intense investigation. Various news outlets report that the shooter, Salvador Ramos, purchased two military-style assault rifles days after he turned 18 when the law says he was legally allowed to do so. He would also purchase hundreds of rounds of ammunition and at least seven different 30-round magazines that were found around the school and in his vehicle after the shooting.
Timeline of Events
- ~11am: On the day of the shooting, news agencies are reporting that Ramos clearly announced his intentions to kill both his grandmother and shoot schoolchildren via Facebook messages early Tuesday morning but it is unclear why authorities were not alerted. Ramos would shoot his grandmother and then flee the scene.
- 11:28am: Ramos proceeded to crash his truck in front of Robb Elementary. Reports indicate at least 12 minutes of Ramos being outside and possibly firing into windows and at passersby.
- 11:40am: After firing outside the building, Ramos enters the school itself through an unlocked door. Ramos proceeded to start shooting at random before barricading himself inside a classroom filled with students and teachers where he unleashed a barrage of gunfire on his victims.
- 11:43am: According to police timelines, nearly 20 minutes elapsed between when Ramos started firing before Robb Elementary announced a lockdown. Patrol officers from the Uvalde Police department and the school district police department moved in after the lockdown was initiated but faced withering fire and retreated to cover.
- 12:17pm: 30 minutes later, the School District announced that there was an active shooter and urged parents not to go directly to the campus; however many parents were seemingly already gathered demanding officers to go in as heartbreaking videos circulating social media show.
- 12:45pm: It was more than an hour from the initial shots until a special response team from the US Border Patrol would take down Ramos and put an end to his senseless massacre.
Teachers Sacrificing Themselves Deserve Coverage
Two teachers lost their lives that day protecting the students they loved. Those families too are facing unimaginable grief. With almost any profession, the employer is required to have workers’ compensation insurance to help cover the costs of medical bills, lost wages, and other costs when a worker is hurt or killed on the job. Teaching isn’t normally thought of as a dangerous line of work, but the massacre in Uvalde highlights that circumstances beyond our control can be anywhere.
For the victims and their families, if they are indeed covered by workers’ compensation insurance, you hope that the carriers will do the right thing and pay the full amount that these individuals deserve. The grieving families shouldn’t have to worry about funeral costs or even just making ends meet after losing their loved ones. Insurance is supposed to provide that safety net but unfortunately, our Florida workers’ compensation team sees time and again where victims are shortchanged or outright denied after a workplace incident.
We stand with the victims to make sure they receive everything they deserve after a tragedy and hope and pray these two teachers’ families are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve for their loved ones laying down their lives to protect innocent children.
How Farah and Farah Approaches the Tragic Loss of Life
It was the end of the school year for the parents in Uvalde. Instead of planning summer vacations, 19 families are now making funeral arrangements for their children. Dozens more are sitting by the hospital beds of their kids as they receive medical treatment. Some of these wounds will heal, and others, especially the emotional ones, will not. After a tragedy, we all want to know why. What led to the event and are there things we can do as a society to prevent these?
As accident attorneys, we face catastrophic injuries and death every day. We do this because victims and their families deserve closure. When we start on a case, we look at all the facts available and start by asking questions. Questions that remain unanswered in the Uvalde school massacre that need to be objectively considered include:
- Why did the police wait so long to enter the school? The school resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the site of the worst school massacre in U.S. history, is now facing felony charges for his lack of action on that tragic day. Does the Uvalde Police Department hold some responsibility here for a similar failure to act.
- Why was the door to a secure school facility unlocked? This simple lapse in security allowed the gunman to enter the school.
- Why was Ramos’ warning on Facebook before the attack not reported earlier to police?
- Were there any warning signs at the gunshop where Ramos purchased the firearms? Did he appear agitated, unsettled, or in any way indicate his intentions? Would a universal background check for firearms purchases like some politicians are demanding help prevent future tragedies?
The truth is, we may never know why Ramos decided to act in such a monstrous way toward innocent children. But the victims and their families deserve justice and the law provides ways they can seek that. No amount of compensation will ever replace a child or loved one, but securing a victim’s financial future at least takes one less stress they have to worry about so they can focus instead on healing after a tragedy.
June 3rd is National Gun Violence Awareness Day
With national gun violence awareness day being next Friday, June 3rd, the need for action has never been more amplified. Farah and Farah has sponsored the Empowering Greatness Scholarship for years now. During that time, we’ve provided several students who have had to deal with the lifelong effects of gun violence with a 2-year Florida college scholarship.
Our involvement in making the public more aware of the horrors of gun violence is sincere; our work is 100% focused on helping people heal after a tragedy. We would ask all of our readers to do whatever they can in their own communities to take a stand and be a positive change for good. “Here for you, here for good” isn’t just what we say, it’s what we do and who we are.
When You Lose a Loved One, The Ground Beneath Your Feet Seems Unstable. Let Our Team Help Guide You to Solid Ground
As a team, our hearts are broken for the families in Texas dealing with such a senseless act of violence. Unfortunately, horrible accidents that take life and limb occur every second of every day. When these happen, you just want to heal, not haggle with insurance. That’s where our team comes alongside you. We’ll listen to what happened and help make a way for you to move forward. If you’d like, you can schedule a quick conversation with an attorney now. We’ll talk with you about what happened and what options may be available completely free of charge.
