美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Uvalde shooting shows that gun laws do matter, says official who worked on report

The Uvalde shooting shows that gun laws do matter, says official who worked on report

Transcript¹

A new report on the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is shining a light on law enforcement's delayed and disorganized response to the attack that killed 19 children and two teachers in May.

The Texas House committee investigating the shooting at Robb Elementary School released a 77-page preliminary report on Sunday, outlining what it calls the "systemic failures and egregious² poor decision making" among local, state and federal officers during the incident. Here are four key takeaways from its findings, which the committee says are incomplete as multiple investigations³ remain ongoing⁴.

The report didn't place the blame squarely on any one individual, but pointed⁵ to a variety of shortcomings on the part of entities⁶ including the school, social media platforms and the attacker's family. Still, there appears to have been at least some immediate⁷ fallout: Uvalde's mayor said Lt. Mariano Pargas, the acting⁸ chief of the Uvalde Police Department on the day of the shooting, had been put on administrative⁹ leave after the report's release (another official, school district police chief Pete Arredondo, is on admininstrative leave).

The report offers the clearest picture yet of, among other details, the gunman's motivations and preparations for the attack as well as the response — and lack thereof — by the hundreds of law enforcement officers who arrived on the scene only to wait more than an hour before confronting the shooter.

Notably¹⁰, its release came days after the Austin American-Statesman, in partnership¹¹ with KVUE TV, published hallway surveillance video putting the hesitant and haphazard¹² tactical response on public display for the first time.

Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody¹³ of El Paso, one of the lawmakers on the committee, sees their job as laying out the facts, and hopes the report will be a "solidifying¹⁴ piece" of evidence that lawmakers can use to improve policy going forward — particularly when it comes to gun control measures.

He hears from critics that if someone really wants to do something dangerous, they will figure out how to do so regardless of gun control laws. But he says the story of the Uvalde shooter shows that these laws really do matter.

The suspect had tried to buy weapons before turning 18 but was unsuccessful, for example.

"I think one of the biggest takeaways here is our laws do work," Moody adds. "If we want to make them more stringent¹⁵ and have that conversation in this situation — I think the attacker doesn't end up with those guns. If we had a 21-year purchase age and not 18, I don't think he ends up with those guns."

Moody spoke¹⁶ with Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep about the report's findings and what he hopes will happen next. Below are highlights from their conversation.

On warning signs regarding the attacker:

The report doesn't mention the gunman by name, which Moody says was an intentional¹⁷ choice because "this was someone who was after fame and notoriety." And he adds that the systems around him failed, too.

For example, he noted¹⁸ that while the perpetrator's behavior before Uvalde earned him the nickname "school shooter" on multiple social media platforms, no one on those platforms reported it. And he suggested that wasn't the only missed opportunity to contact authorities.

"There's [an] instance of the attacker making suicidal remarks ... contemporaneous with purchasing weapons," Moody says. "Those are things that should have and could have been reported as well."

On law enforcement's inaction at the scene:

The report says 376 federal, state and local law enforcement officials arrived at the scene but lacked the clear leadership, basic communication and a sense of urgency to engage the shooter.

It faults Arredondo with multiple missteps, including abandoning his radio outside and proceeding¹⁹ to handle the situation as one of a "barricaded²⁰ subject" rather than an active shooter. But it also says the officers at the school — most of whom were either from U.S. Border Patrol or the state police department — should have done more to try to fill that leadership void.

Moody notes that while nearly 400 officers were present, the number of people who understood what was actually happening in the hallway was much smaller.

"Some people arrive and have no information, bad information or actually outright²¹ misinformation given to them," he says.

Some officers were told that the district police chief was in the classroom negotiating with the attacker, for example, which Moody says paints a very different picture from reality.

"It was a failure of the systems that should have been in place to be able to produce a better result in that scenario," he adds.

On the hallway surveillance footage

The release of the leaked surveillance footage has sparked backlash and debate, as NPR has reported.

Moody says the version of the video that the committee sought to release to families did not include the image of the shooter, unlike the one that was made publicly available.

And he says it's especially troubling to see the video of officers standing²² in the hallway, checking their phones and sanitizing their hands, because he's reviewed so much police body camera footage and other evidence from the day.

"I think it's hard because I have a complete picture of what I know happened in that classroom," he says. "And when you see that reaction, there's something you want to have happen that's different. And I've watched a number of videos where I want something, every time I watch it, to happen differently. But I know that it doesn't. And it's something that I probably will never be able to understand fully²³ or maybe even process fully."

The audio for this interview was produced by Shelby Hawkins and edited by Raquel Maria Dillon and Vince Pearson.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。

3 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

6 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

10 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 haphazard   

adj.无计划的，随意的，杂乱无章的

参考例句：

• The town grew in a haphazard way.这城镇无计划地随意发展。
• He regrerted his haphazard remarks.他悔不该随口说出那些评论话。

13 moody   

adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的

参考例句：

• He relapsed into a moody silence.他又重新陷于忧郁的沉默中。
• I'd never marry that girl.She's so moody.我决不会和那女孩结婚的。她太易怒了。

14 solidifying   

（使）成为固体，（使）变硬，（使）变得坚固( solidify的现在分词 )； 使团结一致； 充实，巩固； 具体化

参考例句：

• The substances are formed from a mixture of liquids solidifying under pressure. 这些材料是由几种液体混合在一起并加压使之凝固而成的。
• Painting is an art solidifies time and space for solidifying. 绘画是凝固了的时间和空间的艺术。

15 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

16 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

17 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

20 barricaded   

设路障于，以障碍物阻塞( barricade的过去式和过去分词 )； 设路障[防御工事]保卫或固守

参考例句：

• The police barricaded the entrance. 警方在入口处设置了路障。
• The doors had been barricaded. 门都被堵住了。

21 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

22 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

23 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。