Welcome to a new season of the award-winning Hill Country Authors Podcast, sponsored by Stoney Creek Publishing. In this podcast, Hill Country resident Tom Fox visits with authors who live in and write about the Texas Hill Country. In this episode, Tom visits Craig Garnett, publisher of the Uvalde Leader-New and author of the book Uvalde’s Darkest Hour, about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and its fallout, which continues to resonate today.
This episode explores a perplexing case regarding active shooter preparedness and failures. The discussion centers around a specific school district that conducted active shooter training for law enforcement officers just two months before an event. Despite this, the response on the event day did not follow the trained protocols after the initial minutes. The Department of Justice issued a scathing report highlighting the unpreparedness of the district, which included issues such as non-locking doors, inadequate fencing, and the absence of a patrolling officer at the elementary school on the day of the incident. Critically, the active shooter protocol was not effectively implemented despite being documented by the school police department.
But more than simply a recitation of the failures of law enforcement, Garnett looks at the continued impact of the shooting on the survivors, the families of the victims, and, indeed, the entire community of Uvalde.
Key highlights:
- Active Shooter Training and Preparedness
- Failures on the Day of the Event
- School District’s Shortcomings
- Police Force and Protocol Issues
- Gun Rights and Controls
- Uvalde Today
Resources
Craig Garnett on LinkedIn
Uvalde’s Darkest Hour on Amazon.com
Tom Fox
