The Uvalde cop who was slammed for checking his phone during the Robb Elementary School massacre has been revealed as the husband of one of the victims.
Earlier this week, security footage was leaked by Austin American-Statesman and its TV partner KVUE showing armed officers standing in the school corridor for 77 minutes while a gunman opened fired on students and teachers. The footage sparked outrage from critics on social media.
Many people slammed the officers for not acting sooner to stop the devastating attack, which left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Particular criticism was focused on one cop, who could be seen checking his phone while he waited in the corridor. Social media users were particularly outraged when they realized that the police officer's lock screen background was a picture of the vigilante Punisher logo.
"That cop in Uvalde having his lock screen be the punisher logo and him being scared to take on an active shooter is truly the perfect encapsulation of how cops see themselves vs who they really are," podcast host Albert Jaragua Corado wrote on Twitter.
However, since the heartbreaking truth behind the moment has been revealed, many people are reconsidering their criticism.
KBTX reports that the officer - identified as Ruben Ruiz - was waiting to hear from his wife, Eva Mireles, who was one of the teachers inside the classroom where the shootings took place.
According to the outlet, Mireles had already called her husband to tell him she had been shot and was seriously injured. Though she was still alive when police stormed the classroom, she tragically died on her way to the hospital.
Texas House of Representatives member Joe Moody revealed the grieving cop's connection to the shooting to stop him from being maligned on social media, saying: "Context matters".
"I couldn’t say nothing seeing this man, who’s lost everything, maligned as if he was indifferent or actively malicious," he tweeted.
"To those who haven’t bothered to read even the news that’s been reported in your rush to judgment, he attempted to engage but was removed from the building and disarmed," he continued, adding: "We’ll have much to say about the police response, but no criticism of this officer."
Earlier this week, the leaking of the footage was slammed by the parents of the victims, with Felicia Martinez - the mother of Xavier James Lopez - saying on Tuesday: We want justice for our kids [...] We're the parents who lost our children. We were supposed to do this together first - not for the world.
Watch the parents of the Uvalde victims speak out below:"We're suffering - and I know the world is suffering too - but these were our babies, our babies who were taken from us. So to the person who leaked it: Screw you," the mom added.
Our thoughts continue to go out to everybody affected by this tragedy.