AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The first public hearings in Texas looking into the Uvalde school massacre have focused on a cascade of law enforcement blunders, school building safety and mental health care with only scant mentions of the shooter’s AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and gun reform.
A day after the head of the Texas state police called the law enforcement response to the May 24 slaughter an “abject failure,” Texas senators on Wednesday turned their attention to mental health funding for schools and a shortage of counselors and mental health providers.
So far, lawmakers and witnesses at the hearings have barely mentioned the gun debate. During one of the few times it did come up, Democratic Sen. Jose Menendez asked Col. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, whether the attacker could have done as much damage with a bat, knife or revolver.
