美国国家公共电台 NPR--Texas legislative panel releases a scathing report on the Uvalde shooting

Texas legislative¹ panel releases a scathing² report on the Uvalde shooting

Transcript³

The report details the botched police response to the elementary school shooting in May. The analysis found nearly 400 officers converged⁴ on the scene but no one led a unified⁵ response.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Why did it take close to 400 officers so long to confront one gunman?

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Texas lawmakers ordered an investigation⁶ of the mass shooting in Uvalde. They found a series of failures and poor decision making. Above all, nobody made the decision to move in quickly with the enormous firepower that was on the scene.

INSKEEP: Texas Public Radio's Dan Katz is covering this story. Good morning.

DAN KATZ, BYLINE⁷: Good morning.

INSKEEP: How, if at all, does this legislative report change your understanding of what happened?

KATZ: Well, in many ways it doesn't. But the first thing is this slow response was a failure of law enforcement at all levels. And this goes beyond the local school police chief, Pete Arredondo, who state officials have tried to place the blame on.

INSKEEP: Yeah.

KATZ: In fact, he only had five officers on the scene. You know, compare that to 150 Border Patrol agents, 91 state troopers, 25 city police officers and 16 sheriff's deputies.

INSKEEP: It's kind of sickening to look at the video now and realize how many people with how many weapons were on the scene and not using them, but who was in charge of all of those officers?

KATZ: Unfortunately, we still don't have an answer to that. The report outlined what it called, quote, "systemic failures and egregious⁸ decision making" among local, state and federal officers. But it reiterates⁹ that many of the officers were unsure of who was in charge. Right now Arredondo is on administrative¹⁰ leave. And right after the release of this report, Uvalde's Mayor Don McLaughlin put Mariano Pargas on leave. He was the acting¹¹ city police chief during the shooting. The mayor said the city is conducting an internal investigation on whether Pargas could have done more or whether that was even possible with all the different agencies involved.

INSKEEP: I guess the mayor also released his own city officer's body cam video. What does that show?

KATZ: Yes. It was a more personal view of the response than what was also made public in 77 minutes of hallway surveillance. The body cam footage shows some officers urging action, some even breaking windows and helping¹² children out of the school heroically. But it also shows confusion and a lack of leadership. The mayor released the body cam footage at a time when he, himself, has faced criticism. And he lashed¹³ out yesterday.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DON MCLAUGHLIN: Do you think I enjoy this every day? Do you think I enjoy having to look at 19 families every day or talk to them and tell them? - because my heart's broken for them. But I'll never feel the pain that they're feeling. So, you know, if people don't have the trust me or don't care, then fine. Let me know. I'll be happy to step aside.

INSKEEP: One of many officials facing criticism and questions here - does the school get criticism?

KATZ: Yeah. One thing is the - in this report is that Robb Elementary School was unprepared to deal with this shooting. All three exterior¹⁴ doors of the building were unlocked that day, as were multiple interior doors. Another example - the school's five-foot fence was inadequate¹⁵ to stop an intruder. And we also learned that the gunman specifically targeted this particular classroom. He was once a student there. And the report said he was bullied¹⁶ in that fourth-grade classroom. State Representative Joe Moody¹⁷, who helped write the committee's report, said people missed many warning signs.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOE MOODY: He came from a broken home, with little to no interaction with his father. He struggled in school, both academically and socially. He struggled to fit in and eventually became isolated¹⁸. He networked with his peers through social media and violent video games and ultimately had a fixation on school shootings and even developed the nickname School Shooter.

INSKEEP: OK. So we learned something about the shooter there. Let's talk about the response, though. If police had been more immediate¹⁹ in going into the classroom, could they have saved lives?

KATZ: Well, according to the report, probably not. The gunman had a high-powered weapon. While the legislative committee did not mention the easy availability of high-powered firearms in its report, it did point out that he fired more than 100 rounds in 3 minutes before authorities ever arrived on scene. And it was likely that most of the victims died immediately during the shooter's initial gunfire - little solace²⁰ to family members, who are still angry and just want answers.

INSKEEP: That's Texas Public Radio's Dan Katz. Dan, thanks so much.

KATZ: Thank you.

1 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

2 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 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。

9 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

10 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。

11 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。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 lashed   

adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥

参考例句：

• The rain lashed at the windows. 雨点猛烈地打在窗户上。
• The cleverly designed speech lashed the audience into a frenzy. 这篇精心设计的演说煽动听众使他们发狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

15 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

16 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 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。

18 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

19 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。

20 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。