Uvalde family blasts Greg Abbott over ‘back to school’ message: ‘An embarrassment’

The Texas governor said the shooting ‘could have been worse’ in the aftermath of the attack

A parent of one of the children killed during a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has called out Governor Greg Abbott after he posted a message welcoming students back to school.

Mr Abbott made the post on Twitter on Sunday, recalling "fond memories" he had of his daughter during back-to-school season, according to HuffPost.

“Good luck to our Texas students and teachers heading back to school,” Mr Abbott wrote. “No doubt you will make us, and your parents, proud this year.”

For some Texan parents — like Brett Cross, whose son Uziyah was one of the 19 students killed in the mass shooting — the celebration that students are returning to classrooms was a bitter reminder of his loss.

He responded to Mr Abbott, arguing that the governor did nothing to address the shooting.

“You know what back to school season brings us,” Mr Cross wrote. “Memories that our children died a gruesome horrific death and you did absolutely nothing except tell us that ‘it could have been worse’. No special session. No holding YOUR police force accountable. Lying through your teeth. [You’re] an embarrassment.”

Mr Cross is referring to a statement Mr Abbott made the day after the shooting, during which he said that "as horrible as what has happened, it could have worse."

“The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do: They showed amazing courage by running toward gun fire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives," he said.

The Uvalde police were met with fury by the public and the parents of the children who were killed when it was revealed that they waited more than 70 minutes to confront the shooter. The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Steve McCraw, called the Uvalde police response an "abject failure."

Mr Cross's wife also posted about the upcoming school year, saying she hopes her other children will "survive" the year.

“Today should be your first day of 6th grade,” Ms Cross wrote on Twitter, in memory of her son. “After dropping off your brother and sister I sit at home terrified…waiting. I will never enjoy the first day of school again. Instead I will wait and hope they survive the year.”