NRA Hosts Houston Event Despite Uvalde Shooting

May 27, 2022 by Reece Nations
NRA Hosts Houston Event Despite Uvalde Shooting
People gather outside the George R. Brown Convention Center to protest the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Houston, Friday, May 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

HOUSTON — The National Rifle Association commenced its annual meeting in Houston on Friday, just days after the third-deadliest school shooting in United States history took place roughly 280 miles away.

The NRA meeting was met with crowds of protesters who organized right across the street in downtown Houston’s Discovery Green Park to counter its presence. 

Demonstrators held a vigil at city hall on Thursday to mourn the victims and call on the NRA to abandon its plans for this weekend.

In the hours that followed the media scrum where reporters received official updates from law enforcement officials, new information came to light and the record needed correcting. The Well News reported at the time that after the Uvalde school shooting perpetrator crashed his vehicle, he had been confronted by police before he entered Robb Elementary School.

On Thursday, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Victor Escalon told reporters at a press conference that was not the case, and police did not engage the suspect upon his arrival. This information directly contradicted what was stated by DPS Director Steven McGraw during Wednesday’s press conference featuring every one of the state’s top legislative leaders.

Further, Escalon said that the door the shooter had entered was unlocked but couldn’t say why. There were no police officers at the school when the perpetrator arrived.

In fact, in between the shooter’s automobile crash and his approach to the campus, he allegedly shot at two witnesses. The first 911 call concerning the situation came at about 11:30 a.m., Escalon said, and the perpetrator arrived at the school roughly 10 minutes later.

Four minutes later, local law enforcement arrived on the scene, according to the current timeline of events. The shooter then opened fire on them, causing them to retreat and call for reinforcements.

Because the gunman had barricaded himself in a classroom, police waited for specialty equipment to arrive before attempting a breach. Finally, a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team arrived at the school at 12:47 p.m., roughly an hour after the perpetrator’s initial arrival.

Previously, law enforcement told The Well News and others that the shooting was confined to a single classroom in the school. On Thursday, Escalon said that actually four classrooms were targeted in the attack.

After parents began hearing of a lockdown situation at the school, they began to show up at the scene as well. Several had to be restrained by law enforcement from rushing into the school building to save their children before the tactical team appeared.

It was then announced on Thursday that Uvalde law enforcement’s actions and response to the shooting were being investigated by state authorities. 

Reece can be reached at [email protected] and @ReeceNations

A+
a-
  • Donald Trump
  • National Rifle Association
  • Protests
  • Ted Cruz
  • Uvalde
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    Guns

    May 6, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Justice Dept. Urges Supreme Court to Overturn Hawaii Gun Restrictions

    WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and 25 state attorneys general are asking the Supreme Court to take a Hawaii case... Read More

    WASHINGTON — The Justice Department and 25 state attorneys general are asking the Supreme Court to take a Hawaii case that could put further restrictions on the right to legally carry a concealed gun. Hawaii passed a law in 2023 saying legal gun owners could not... Read More

    April 21, 2025
    by Dan McCue
    Emergency Rooms Treating Firearm Injuries Every 30 Minutes

    WASHINGTON — Doctors and staffers in emergency rooms in nine states and the District of Columbia are treating a new... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Doctors and staffers in emergency rooms in nine states and the District of Columbia are treating a new patient with a firearm injury every 30 minutes, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study, which was published last... Read More

    Fear and Panic at Florida State as Deadly Shooting Sends Students Fleeing

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — When a 20-year-old opened fire at Florida State University, terrified students barricaded doors and fled across campus, abandoning... Read More

    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — When a 20-year-old opened fire at Florida State University, terrified students barricaded doors and fled across campus, abandoning chemistry notes and even shoes, in a shooting that investigators said killed two men and wounded at least six others. By early Friday, memorials of candles... Read More

    Gun Rights Are Women’s Rights

    Picture this: a woman alone, heart pounding, as a shadow moves through her house. The phone’s too far, the police... Read More

    Picture this: a woman alone, heart pounding, as a shadow moves through her house. The phone’s too far, the police too slow. All she has is herself — and maybe a gun. As a 22-year Tulsa Police veteran, two-time national three-gun champ, and founder of Women... Read More

    A 15-Year-Old Girl Fatally Shoots a Teacher and a Teenager at a Christian School in Wisconsin

    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 15-year-old student opened fire inside a study hall at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, killing... Read More

    MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 15-year-old student opened fire inside a study hall at a small Christian school in Wisconsin, killing a teacher and a teenager and prompting a swarm of police officers to descend on the school in response to a second grader's 911 call. The girl... Read More

    Police Hunt for the Gunman Who Killed UnitedHealthcare's Boss in Manhattan

    NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators are searching for clues that could help them identify the masked gunman who stalked and killed the... Read More

    NEW YORK (AP) — Investigators are searching for clues that could help them identify the masked gunman who stalked and killed the leader of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies on a Manhattan sidewalk, then disappeared into Central Park. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, died in a... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top