The mayor of Uvalde, Texas, has announced that Robb Elementary School will be demolished, less than a month after 19 students and two teachers were killed in the mass shooting.
On May 24, 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother and then drove to the elementary school, where he went on a shooting spree and killed 21 victims.
As the Uvalde community continues to grieve in the wake of last month’s massacre, questions are being asked about the aftermath of the elementary school.
As reported by People, during a city council meeting on Tuesday (June 21), captured on video by KENS in San Antonio, mayor Don McLaughlin was asked by an attendee about the school's future.
McLaughlin responded that he spoke with Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District superintendent Hal Harrell, saying: "My understanding -I had a discussion with the superintendent - that school will be demolished."
Without providing the Uvalde community a timeline for the demolition, McLaughlin added: "You can never ask a child to go back or teacher to go back in that school ever."
Earlier this month, Harrell also stated: "[Officials] are working through plans on how to serve students on other campuses and will provide that information as soon as it is finalized".
Robb Elementary will not be the first school to be torn down after a mass shooting.
Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was toppled after 20 students and six teachers were killed in 2012. A new school was then built on the same land..
Tensions are still at a high in Uvalde, with the local community condemning law enforcement officers for waiting over an hour to confront the assailant, per 9News.
The announcement that the school would be torn down was made hours after the Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said the police's response to the mass shooting was "an abject failure".
"The officers had weapons; the children had none," McCraw said during the hearing. "The officers had body armor; the children had none. The officers had training; the subject had none. One hour, 14 minutes, and eight seconds. That's how long children waited, and the teachers waited, in Room 111 to be rescued."
McCraw said that on-scene commander, Pedro Arredondo, blocked other officers from stopping the intruder sooner and potentially limiting the massacre. McCraw said: "[Arredondo] decided to place the lives of officers over the lives of children".
However, at the council meeting, the mayor accused McCraw of deflecting blame away from law enforcement, saying: "Every briefing he leaves out the number of his own officers and rangers that were on scene that day."
"Colonel McCraw has an agenda and it’s not to present a full report on what happened and to give factual answers to the families of this community," Don McLaughlin added.
The outpouring of emotion regarding the Uvalde massacre - along with a number of other mass shootings in the last couple of months - has led to another push for gun control legislation in the United States.
Per the Guardian, US senators announced an agreement on a gun violence bill that would strengthen background checks for the youngest firearms buyers and demand more sellers to execute background checks.
The bill would also expend money on states and communities aimed at enhancing school protection and mental health initiatives.
