Uvalde eyewitness: What a teacher wounded in shootout has to say

The Uvalde
massacre in which 21 people, including 19 children, were killed when
18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos opened fire has shaken the United States to
its core. The massacre has triggered active debate on gun violence in the US
and the White House has sought to bring in measures to avoid another Uvalde.
Efforts of the nature, however, have been historically run down by the gun
lobby. Now, an eyewitness account has emerged.

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Arnulfo Reyes, a
teacher at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was one of the teachers
injured in the shootout. Eleven students of his class were killed in the
massacre. Speaking to ABC, Reyes said the students were watching a film in
class when the gunshots were first heard. They asked him what was going on.

“The kids started
asking out loud, ‘Mr. Reyes, what is going on?”. “And I said, ‘I don’t know
what’s going on, but let’s go ahead and get under the table. Get under the
table and act like you’re asleep.’”

“As they were
doing that, and I was gathering them under the table and told them to act like
they’re going to sleep, is about the time when I turned around and saw him
standing there.”

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Ramos opened fire,
hitting Reyes. One bullet went through his arm and lung and another hit his
back, ABC reported. Reyes was rendered incapacitated and the gunman then
trained his gun on the students.

Just as this was
happening, students heard law enforcement officials outside the classroom. One
child reportedly called on the police for help, but by that time, the cops had
already retreated along the hallway.

“One of the
students from the next-door classroom was saying, ‘Officer, we’re in here. We’re
in here. But they had already left,” Reyes said.

According to
authorities, Salvador Ramos gunned down students and teachers in Room No. 111
and an adjoining room. The gunman was inside the classrooms for over and hour
before he was killed by a Border Patrol tactical response team.