Texas attorney general calls for teachers to be armed after massacre in Uvalde

Your support helps us to tell the story

Support Now

Find out moreClose

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton repeated his call to arm teachers after a shooter killed more than a dozen children and one teacher at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

Mr Paxton made the remarks after police killed Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old man, who opened fire and killed 15 people at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

The Texas attorney general spoke on Newsmax in the middle of campaigning in a runoff primary against Land Commissioner George P Bush where polls close Tuesday evening.

Mr Paxton proposed having “one point of entry” at schools to make it more difficult for shooters to enter a school, as well as arming teachers and “potentially other administrators”.

“First reponders typically can’t get there in time to prevent a shooting,” he said. “It’s just not possible unless you have a police on every campus, which for a lot of these schools is almost impossible.”

Later on Fox News, Mr Paxton pushed back on the idea that there should be more laws to restrict gun ownership.

“We can’t stop bad people from doing bad things,” he said. “If they violate murder laws, they’re not going to follow gun laws. I never understood that argument.”

He later reiterated his point about arming teachers.

“The reality is we don’t have the resources to have law enforcement at every school,” he said. “It takes time for law enforcement, no matter how prepared, no matter how good they are to get there. So having the right training for some of these people at the school is the best hope.”

Governor Greg Abbott said the state would investigate the shooting.

“I have instructed the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers to work with local law enforcement to fully investigate this crime. The Texas Division of Emergency Management is charged with providing local officials all resources necessary to respond to this tragedy as the State of Texas works to ensure the community has what it needs to heal”