Crimson Elizondo: Outrage after Uvalde school REHIRES cop despite failing to protect children during massacre
UVALDE, TEXAS: A Uvalde police officer who quit after receiving criticism from parents for failing to stop the massacre was rehired to guard the school. Following another parental protest, Crimson Elizondo, 45, has now lost her job at the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.
Elizondo, a former police officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety, was one of the first officers to reach Robb Elementary School on May 24. She was captured on the bodycam standing outside the premises, making no move to enter. When an inquiry into the police response was launched, Elizondo resigned covertly. She was then employed by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) and was given the responsibility of looking after the victims of the shooting which had claimed the lives of two teachers and 19 children. When parents saw Elizondo this week at the school, they reportedly recognized her right away and requested her dismissal.
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In addition to apologizing to the victim's families, the school system stated she was fired from her job on Thursday, October 6. “We are deeply distressed by the information that was disclosed yesterday evening concerning one of our recently hired employees, Crimson Elizondo,” UCISD said, referencing Elizondo's infamous statement in the aftermath of the shooting. “Yeah my son's in daycare, he's not old enough. Yeah no, if my son had been in there, I would not have been outside, I promise you that,” Elizondo said as per Daily Mail. The district added: “We sincerely apologize to the victim's families and the greater Uvalde community for the pain that this revelation has caused.”
Parents of the victims claimed they recognized Elizondo in her new position at the Uvalde elementary school right away from the body camera film, which showed her among the seven DPS officers who waited nearby as children were being shot. Despite assurances to parents that people who failed their children would not be hired at the school, Brett Cross, whose son, Uziyah Garcia, was killed in the shooting, said he was disgusted to see Elizondo at the school. “I asked when they said we were getting more officers, if they were hiring officers who were there on May 24,” he said of the UCISD's decision to hire 10 additional cops following the massacre. “They told me, 'No.' And honestly, I'm pissed off at the remarks she had to say,” Cross added via Daily Mail.
Elizondo was one of seven DPS officers under investigation for failing to act alongside the former UCISD Chief Pete Arredondo following criticism of his leadership to swiftly stop the incident. The former chief resigned as a result. She was one of the first police officers to arrive at the scene when Salvador Ramos, 18, massacred 19 kids and two instructors while being left alone for 77 minutes while also injuring 17 others. The body cam footage from the occurrences shows Elizondo waiting with other cops without being equipped with body armor or a rifle.
