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Texas School Shooting; Russia's War on Ukraine; Thousands Flee DRC Violence; NRA Convention Goes On. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired May 28, 2022 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes, appreciate the company.
Seventy-seven minutes: that is how long it took police to end the Texas school shooter's rampage that left 19 children and two teachers dead on Tuesday. That is according to the latest timeline released by officials.
For much of that time, police waited in the hallway, even as the gunman fired more shots and the children inside the classroom, he was holed up in called 9-1-1. Top police officials now admit it was a mistake to not engage the shooter earlier. Have a listen.
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SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Why was this decision made not to go in and rescue these children?
COL. STEVEN MCCRAW, DIRECTOR, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: the on-scene commander considered a barricaded subject and that there was time and there were no more children at risk.
Of course, it wasn't the right decision. It was the wrong decision, period.
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HOLMES: And some of the victims outraged, understandably, at these missteps, with one father telling CNN, he wonders if his daughter and others might have survived if authorities had acted more quickly.
We now know the names and faces of all 21 lives cut short, with funerals set to begin next week.
Now the Texas governor says police have a lot to answer, for CNN's Ed Lavandera picks up the story from here.
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GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): I was misled. I am livid about what happened. ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Explosive reaction from the Texas governor to new information about law enforcement's response on the day of the Uvalde shootings.
ABBOTT: The information they was given turned out, in part, to be inaccurate. I'm absolutely livid about that. And it is imperative that the leaders of the investigations about exactly what happened get down to the very seconds of exactly what happened with 100 percent accuracy.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Governor's press conference coming after the Texas Department of Public Safety said police were wrong in waiting to go in and eliminate an active shooter after he started killing students and teachers.
MCCRAW: It was a wrong decision, there is no excuse for that. Texas embraces active shooter training, active shooter certification. Every officer lines up, stacks up, goes and finds where the rounds are being fired at and keeps shooting until the suspect is dead, period.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The decision to back down from an active shooter was, according to officials, made by the school district's chief of police.
MCCRAW: The incident commander at the time was believed, you know, that in fact was a barricaded subject, that we had time, no kids were at risk.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The admission comes after he laid out the timeline that day, 11:27 am, the teacher he said had propped open a door to go outside and grab a cell phone. Then the gunman fired shots at two people near the school grounds.
MCCRAW: There's multiple shots fired at the school at 11:32; 11:33, the suspect begins shooting in the room 111 or 112. At 11:35, three police officers entered the same door as the suspect entered.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Gun fire continued while as many as 19 agents were still in the hallway but didn't go in the classroom until a janitor brought the keys. Second grader Edward Silva was in his classroom when the shooting started.
EDWARD SILVA, SECOND GRADER: At first, they sounded like something like was popping. Like kind of like fireworks.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Just after 12:00, the 9-1-1 calls began from a child inside the classroom, where shots were fired.
MCCRAW: She identified herself and whispered she's in room 112.
At 12:10, she called back, adviser, multiple dead; 12:13 pm again, she called on the phone; 12:16 pm called back, eight to nine students alive; 12:21 pm you could hear over the 9-1-1 call three shots fired; 12:36 pm, 9-1-1 call lasted 21 seconds, initial caller called back, student, child called back, told to stay on the line and be very quiet. She told 9-1-1 he shot the door. Approximately 12:43 pm and 12:47 pm she asked 9-1-1 to please send the police now.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Eleven-year-old Miah Cerrillo was inside the class with the gunman, her aunt said she had to save herself.
BLANCA RIVERA, MIAH'S AUNT: Miah got some blood, put on herself and she pretended she was dead.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): By the time the tactical team breached the classroom and killed the shooter, he had been in the room for more than an hour.
LAVANDERA: While the Texas governor says he was misled, he would not say who gave him the bad information.
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LAVANDERA: CNN has also made multiple attempts throughout the day to reach the Uvalde ISD police chief. We have not been able to find him.
We did ask the superintendent of the schools and the city mayor if they thought that the ISD police chief and the city police chief should resign or be fired. Both men refused to answer that question -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, Uvalde, Texas.
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HOLMES: And joining me now from Los Angeles, retired FBI supervisory special agent Steve Moore.
It is hard to know where to begin on this. Police say they thought there were no more children alive in the classroom and so they waited outside. You have 9-1-1 calls coming from the kids, there is gunshots going on, kids still alive.
How could that even happen?
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, it can't. If they had followed active shooter protocol, none of that would have been true.
When you have three officers in the hall, the minimum you go with is one. If you get two, you feel good and if you get three, you are doing well. Those officers should have continued down toward the sound of the shots and eliminated the shooter.
The problem with him saying we didn't think any more kids were alive, that was 45 minutes after they stopped doing what they should have done.
HOLMES: Exactly. Meanwhile, that wasn't the last of the shooting.
Do you think children actually died because law enforcement didn't act properly?
It certainly looks that way. The ones still being shot, of course but also wounded in there, not being helped, who perhaps bled out?
MOORE: Let me tell you, I responded to one active shooter at a school. And the shooting was over and the shooter had gotten off the property almost immediately. I believe there were 5-7 people shot, five of them who were 5 years old.
And one of them would not have lasted another five minutes. The rest of them, I doubt would have lasted 30 minutes. So for them to delay an hour, I find it hard to believe that lives couldn't have been saved. As you say, there was another round of shots at 12:20 or so. Those kids would not have even been injured.
HOLMES: Yes, it really defies belief. It is interesting, you know, the press conference today, as we all listened to it, it was lengthy. But the sobering fact is it was shorter than the time the shooter was in those classrooms, shooting kids while, for much of that time, police were literally outside.
What failures do you see with how law enforcement responded and what needs to change?
MOORE: Well, like you said earlier, I don't even know where to start. There is a policy -- oh, by the way, I want to say to Steve McCraw, the director of DPS for Texas, thank you for finally being honest. Thank you for being brutally honest and painfully honest. That took courage.
But everything was -- everything was wrong. They are all trained. They are all trained on active shooter response. You go to the sound of the shooting, you stop the shooting.
What do we do if the people we have trained won't go in?
That is the main thing.
Why have a policy if you are not going to follow it?
You know, secondarily, you could put higher power guns in the car, maybe some better ballistic protection. But the main thing is, go do your job.
HOLMES: And the Texas lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, said, the massacre, he said, "Evil will always walk amongst us."
Now that is true and mental health is almost always raised in the situation. But only in the United States does evil and the mentally ill have virtually unfettered access to military-style high-powered rifles, high powered ammunition.
Can you see a need for that to change in the U.S.?
He was equally matched with the cops.
MOORE: It's -- he was -- you know, except for numbers, he had firepower superiority over them.
But no reasonable person can look you in the face without giggling and say we don't need to change this. Obviously the mentally ill, the schizophrenic, the violent people, the felons, they can't have access to these -- any type of weapons, much less stuff like this. That has to change.
We as a nation have to find middle ground. Both sides have to move toward the middle. And we are going to have to invent some ways of finding threats that are out there and prohibiting and sequestering them from having firearms.
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HOLMES: There is no more mental illness in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world but it's just that they have access to guns.
MOORE: Right.
HOLMES: To that point, we're going to where here in the United States right now but all around the world as well -- and those outside this country do not understand the ease of gun access and the lack of rules on things like concealed carry. There are no rules in many states.
Teenagers buying weapons like AR-15s at 18 before it is legal to have a beer. More guns than people in the U.S.
Just how entrenched are guns and guns culture in American society?
Because the rest of the world shakes their head.
MOORE: Yes, I can understand that. I don't think I could adequately explain it to somebody who hasn't lived in the United States and learned what our culture is like. I can't explain pickup trucks. I can't explain so much of the American society.
But this is ingrained. It is interwoven into American culture. It is part of what many Americans consider the thing that makes America free for them. It is part of their view of America and it is ingrained in society. I mean, everybody around the world has seen Westerns. Those are just fiction based on real -- the real world back then.
HOLMES: But so many of these mass shootings, I tweeted out at the time, I'm not shocked anymore. I'm horrified but I'm just not shocked anymore. There will be another one.
Steve Moore, got to leave it there, unfortunately. Good to see, thanks, Steve Moore. Appreciate it.
MOORE: Thank you.
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HOLMES: A 4th grader who survived the massacre now sharing chilling details of what she saw that tragic day. Listen now as CNN producer Nora Neus describes her exclusive conversation with 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo.
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NORA NEUS, CNN PRODUCER: She says the shooter looked one of her teachers in the eye, said, "Good night," and then shot her. Then he opened fire, shooting the other teacher and a lot of Miah's friends. And she heard screams and then heard him shooting in that classroom, heard a lot of gunshots.
After the shots stopped, though, she says he started playing music, sad music.
I asked her, you know, "How would you describe it?"
And she said, "It just was sad like you want people to die."
She says she actually put her hands in the blood from her friend who lay next to her -- she was already dead -- and then smeared the blood all over herself all over her body so that she could play dead.
She told me that she assumed the police just weren't there yet. But then afterward, she heard the grownups say that the police were there but waiting outside. And that's the first time that she really started crying in the interview. She'd been pretty stoic up until then.
But that's when she started crying, saying she just didn't understand why, like they didn't come in and get her.
"Why wouldn't they come in?"
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HOLMES: Now Miah was too scared to speak on camera or to a man, by the way, after her horrific experience; entirely understandable. But she did want to share her story and hopefully help prevent this from happening to other kids.
Well, Ukraine says it urgently needs more firepower to stop Russia's advance. Long-range weapons like these could dramatically affect the battlefield if the West agrees to send them. The latest on the war when we come back.
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HOLMES: Ukraine's military admits it is outmanned and outgunned in Eastern Ukraine as Russian troops advance in the Donbas. (INAUDIBLE) denies the Ukrainian held city of Severodonetsk is surrounded. They say the Russians have moved into the city's outskirts but can't proceed any further. Ukraine also says Russian crews are repairing damaged rail lines near
Kharkiv to facilitate the shipment of crucial supplies to Russian troops in the Donbas. Now to halt the Russian advance, Ukraine urgently asking the West for multi-launch rocket systems that have far greater range than the howitzers they have already been given.
The Pentagon confirms it is looking at the request, but no decision has been made. Now despite facing enormous difficulties in the Donbas, Ukraine's president remains confident his military will prevail.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): That is why we have to increase our defense, increase our resistance and Donbas will be Ukraine again, even if Russia will bring all suffering and ruination to Donbas. We will rebuild every town, every community. There is no real alternative.
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HOLMES: Now the withdrawal of Russian forces near Kharkiv is gradually revealing more evidence of alleged war crimes. And local residents are readily identifying some of the Russian troops they say are responsible. CNN's Melissa Bell with our report.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Russian tanks entering the village of Lypivka in late February. Now in charge here of life and of death.
Six weeks later, now back in control of the village, Ukrainian authorities begin counting the dead.
"I can't look," says one mother.
It was only after the tanks had withdrawn that Ukrainian prosecutors were able to start piecing together what had happened. They now suspect these men of crimes in violation of the rules and customs of war.
RUSLAN KRAVCHENKO, UKRAINIAN REGIONAL PROSECUTOR (through translator): On this street, nine soldiers of the 64th Brigade imprisoned unarmed civilians. They detained and tortured them for 10 days --
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KRAVCHENKO (through translator): -- inflicting bodily harm and carrying out mock executions.
BELL (voice-over): We wanted to see for ourselves where some of these alleged crimes may have been committed. Going door to door with pictures of the soldiers, we meet Andriy (ph), who recognized one of them.
BELL: Is it locked?
BELL (voice-over): He leads us down to a cellar, where he says Russian soldiers tried to kill a group of men and women who had been hiding.
They used grenades and rifles, he says. But the civilians managed to survive by heading further into the darkness.
BELL: This is the scene of just one of the alleged crimes of the men of the 64th Brigade. It is littered with cigarettes and bullet casings.
BELL (voice-over): Back in Lypivka, we show Mikolaus Nak (ph), a local resident, a picture of commander Vasyl Lytvynenko. He recognizes him immediately and invited us into what is left of his home.
He and his family hid in the woods, he says, while his home was destroyed by the Russian artillery that killed his neighbor. When he tried to come back, he says the commander seemed surprised.
He said, "What are you doing here? You should have been burnt alive."
Mikolaus (ph) still doesn't know why he decided to let him live.
IRYNA VENEDIKTOVA, PROSECUTOR GENERAL OF UKRAINE: Rape enough people, torture enough people, for what?
Because they wanted to scare civilians, scare our citizens of towns, villages, cities.
BELL (voice-over): After withdrawing from the Bucha area, the brigade's men were promoted by Moscow. The Kremlin denies any involvement in the mass killings.
The 64th Brigade was created after the Georgian war, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
"The soldiers of this barricade," he says, "were noted for the robberies and rapes. But instead of bringing order to the brigade, the Russian command armed it," he explains, "with modern weapons and sent it into Ukraine."
Beyond working out exactly what the Russian soldiers who occupied this area north of Kyiv might have been responsible for, the big question for Ukrainian prosecutors now is where they are -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Kyiv.
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HOLMES: Internment camps, forced relocations and accusations of cultural genocide: that is all happening in the occupied parts of Eastern Ukraine, according to sources familiar with Western intelligence.
They believe hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are being sent to what Russia calls "filtration camps." As Suzanne Malveaux reports, their saga is nothing short of horrifying.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: People here in Lviv and Western Ukraine, those who were able to escape the wartorn areas early, they say they are the lucky ones. Their friends and family, who are left in the eastern part of the country, now under Russian control, they say are going through what is called the filtration process.
It is a process of dehumanizing, humiliating and controlling the Ukrainian people who are in those areas now. They say what they are enduring here is absolutely horrific. Family members are separated from relatives. They are stripped, they are interrogated, they are beaten, their fingerprints are taken, their cell phones as well as their documents, all of their social media is gone through.
What the Russians are trying to do is determine whether or not these individuals are sympathetic to the Ukrainian government or the Ukrainian military. If in fact these civilians pass this filtration test, they get a certificate to cross and perhaps visit with their family or come back.
There are many who are still in these areas, now in the hundreds of thousands, it is estimated, that don't get any explanation and are not able to get out. Now Human Rights Watch as well as Western intelligence are confirming these reports, what Ukrainians are saying.
This statement from Human Rights Watch saying Ukrainians do not necessarily have to be thrown on the back of a truck but many are put in a situation where they do not have a choice. You get on the bus and you go to filtration and then to Russia or you die in the shelling.
These are forced transfers, forbidden under the laws of war. They say this is a violation of international laws, these are war crimes. And they continue to take place here throughout Ukraine.
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HOLMES: Suzanne Malveaux there.
Now more than 37,000 people are on the run following the latest fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Norwegian Refugee Council says they all fled their homes over the past five days.
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HOLMES: That is when fighting picked up again between government forces and M23 rebels in the mineral-rich eastern part of the country. The seemingly endless conflict has left more than 5.5 million people internally displaced.
There is outrage in Brazil after a video went viral, showing a man dying in police custody. A warning to viewers, it is footage difficult to watch.
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HOLMES (voice-over): The video appears to show a man being asphyxiated inside a police car. In of the clips, officers are seen placing the handcuffed man into the trunk of the SUV. And then, as you can see, with the rear hatch closed, the vehicle fills up with an unknown gas or smoke, as screams are heard.
The widely shared video clip sparked protests in the city of Umbauba on Thursday. Federal police say the 38-year-old man, quote, "actively resisted" the officers and they were forced to use what they called immobilization techniques. They add that they have opened an internal investigation into the officers involved.
I'm Michael Holmes. For our international viewers, "LIVING GOLF" coming up next. For viewers here in North America, the news continues after the break.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
Our top story, there's outrage and confusion in Uvalde, Texas, after officials again revised the details and timeline of Tuesday's horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School.
On Friday, authorities revealed that 77 minutes passed between the time the gunman entered the school, to when a tactical team finally entered the classroom, where the 18-year-old gunman was holed up, with children and two teachers.
We've also learned that while officers were waiting in the hallway, students locked inside the room with the shooter were calling 9-1-1, pleading for help. Officials now admit, mistakes were made, while the Texas governor says he's infuriated by the misinformation.
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MCCRAW: I have a little bit of hindsight, where I'm sitting now. Of course, it was not the right decision, it was the wrong decision. Very. There's no excuse that. But again, I wasn't there. But I was telling you, from what we know, that we believe there should have been entry into that as soon as you can.
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ABBOTT: I was misled. I am livid about what happened.
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HOLMES: Now the two funeral homes in Uvalde say they will cover arrangements for all 21 victims at no cost to the families; 19 children and two teachers whose lives were cut far too short by gun violence. Now despite the mass shooting days earlier in Uvalde, the top gun
lobby in the U.S., the National Rifle Association, forged ahead with its annual convention in Houston just a few hours down the road. As CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports, passions flaring inside and outside the event.
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PROTESTERS: Shame on you!
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the nation's bitter divide over guns, a tale of two America's on vivid display in Houston. Outside the convention of the National Rifle Association protesters of all ages pleading for an end to the string of deadly shooting massacres.
Inside the hall, thousands gathering in support of the Second Amendment and praising the politicians who say guns are not the root cause of the evil slaughter.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: And unlike some I didn't disappoint you by not showing up.
ZELENY (voice-over): As several Republican leaders backed away from attending the NRA meeting, former President Donald Trump came to voice his support for a group under siege in the wake of this week's Texas school shooting.
He read a list of victims with a tolling bell between each name. Trump took the stage to Lee Greenwood's classic, "God Bless the USA," even though Greenwood chose to stay away and not perform at the NRA out of respect for the families.
The school massacre in Uvalde, only three days and 300 miles away from the NRA convention in downtown Houston. Despite outcry as a protest, the show went on, with Trump leading the charge to change the subject.
TRUMP: If the United States has $40 billion to send to Ukraine, we should be able to do whatever it takes to keep our children safe at home.
ZELENY (voice-over): Texas Senator Ted Cruz rejected any new gun control measures, renewing his call to fortify schools with armed police officers or retired service members.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): We must not react to evil and tragedy by abandoning the Constitution or infringing on the rights of our law abiding citizens.
ZELENY (voice-over): His fellow Texas Senator John Cornyn declined to attend the NRA meeting and has pledged to have at least an open dialogue with Democratic senators searching for solutions to the country's epidemic of gun violence.
Former Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke, now a Democratic candidate for governor said it was time for all Americans to unite behind the solution.
BETO O'ROURKE (D-TX), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You are not our enemies. We are not yours. We extend our hands open and unarmed, in a gesture of peace and fellowship, to welcome you, to join us, to make sure that this no longer happens in this country.
ZELENY (voice-over): While a majority of Americans support some form of tighter gun restrictions, the view of longtime NRA member Elizabeth Tom underscores the sentiment that echoed throughout many conversations here.
ELIZABETH TOM, NRA MEMBER: I know this may be somewhat controversial and I certainly don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but if any of those teachers had been armed this might have ended a lot quicker.
ZELENY: There is one gun manufacturer that is not here called Daniel Defense. They were the manufacturers of that AR-15 used in the Uvalde shooting.
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ZELENY: There simply is an empty space where their vendor was supposed to be.
The company said they didn't think was an appropriate time to be selling their merchandise. Instead, it's replaced by a popcorn stand -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Houston.
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HOLMES: Ron Brownstein is a CNN senior political analyst and senior editor with "The Atlantic." He joins me now.
Good to see you, Ron. Let's talk about the Republicans. Mitch McConnell has given his side the go-ahead to participate in talks on gun legislation.
But what does history teach us about what Republicans actually do versus say, until, inevitably, the focus shifts away from the latest outrage?
How much is short term fear to fend off longer term change?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: That's exactly that. Historically, we have been on this ride before. And opponents of gun control have always found that one of their most potent weapons is delay, to try to push back action, to engage in discussion that allows the immediate firestorm to dissipate.
And I would say, the overwhelming likelihood is that this will -- these conversations in the Senate will not (INAUDIBLE) anything. And if they do it will be something at the very far end of tangential relevance to the core problems. There are not 10 Republican votes even for universal background checks, which have something like 90 percent support at times. It's hard to believe that there are 10 votes for anything more biting than that.
HOLMES: It's interesting. You mention that statistic. I was reading a 2018 poll by Guns Down America, that advocacy group. It found 67 percent of Americans support strict laws; overwhelming majorities, including Republican, support things like requiring a license to purchase a hand gun, a limit on gun purchases, even gun buyback programs.
Explain for those watching outside the U.S., given those numbers, why so many elected representatives of the people who took that poll won't do any of those things.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I think gun control really crystallizes a broader problem that we are experiencing in the U.S., which is the crisis of majority rule or, looking at it the other way, the crisis of minority rule that we are facing.
As you note, there is broad public support for many of the steps that gun control advocates want to take. That doesn't mean that people think that limiting access to guns is going to completely eliminate the problem of gun violence in the U.S.
But they think these are steps worth taking. Two-thirds of the country in Poland, just this week, as well as last year, so not necessarily influenced by immediate events, supports a ban on assault weapons. Roughly two-thirds supports a ban on high-capacity magazines.
These ideas are supported not only by a majority of Democrats, including Democratic gun owners, but they're also supported by a majority of Republicans, who don't own guns. The only large group in the country that opposes these ideas are Republican gun owners.
Yet, what has happened is, as the Republican Party, broadly speaking, in the Trump era has grown more dependent on rural and small-town areas, more dependent on the culturally conservative voters, the NRA has essentially won the argument in the party that any action to restrict access to guns is a sign of disrespect for the cultural values of America.
And as a result, the smaller preponderantly rural, heavily white states that Republicans dominate have a veto over national policy through the filibuster and that prevents this national majority of opinion from been able to execute its policies.
HOLMES: Ron always, good to see you. Thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me, Michael.
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HOLMES: Still to come on the program, as the world comes to grips with the horror of 21 people killed in that Texas school shooting, we remember those irreplaceable lives lost in another senseless tragedy.
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HOLMES: You are looking at pictures taken just outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, in Texas, where people have left flowers, plenty of flowers. You see the crosses as well in remembrance of the 19 children and two adults killed, when a gunman opened fire in their school.
Now we want to keep our focus, of course, on the victims, their families and those who have been affected by this horrific act of violence. Just have a look at those innocent faces. Now all 21 victims killed in the shootings have been identified and many of their funeral services are now set to begin next week. CNN's Boris Sanchez has their stories.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three days after 21 innocent lives were taken, we're learning more about the loved ones this small town is grieving.
DORA MENDOZA, AMERIE JO GARZA'S GRANDMOTHER: Don't forget them, please. Do something about it, I beg you.
SANCHEZ: Miranda Mathis was 11 years old. A friend of her mother's told "The Washington Post," Miranda was a fun, spunky, bright girl.
Ten-year-old Rogelio Torres, his aunt telling CNN affiliate KSET, he was a, quote, "very intelligent, hardworking and helpful person. He'll be missed and never forgotten."
Maite Rodriguez, also 10 years old, her mother, Anna, says Maite dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and wanted to attend college at Texas A&M. In a touching Facebook tribute, Anna calls her daughter, quote, "sweet, charismatic, loving, caring, loyal, free, ambitious, funny, silly, goal driven and her best friend."
Other victims' names have also been confirmed. Layla Salazar, 11 years old; Makenna Lee Elrod, Alithia Ramirez and Jayce Luevanos, all just 10 years old.
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SANCHEZ (voice-over): And in a tragic twist, the husband of Irma Garcia, one of the murdered teachers, has also died.
According to the Archdiocese of San Antonio, Joe Garcia suffered a heart attack after news of his wife's death and passed away on Thursday. The couple had been married more than 24 years and were high school sweethearts. EDUARDO MORALES, SACRED HEART UVALDE: They came to mass every Sunday.
SANCHEZ: Father Eduardo Morales of Sacred Heart Church in Uvalde knew the family well.
MORALES: I told the community that in my own family when we have had a death, that it's church and prayer that has gotten us through all this. Not that it takes the pain away.
SANCHEZ: The Garcias among a list of names of lives cut too short: Eva Mireles, Amerie Garza, Uziyah Garcia, Xavier Lopez, Jose Flores Jr., Lexi Rubio, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, Jacklyn Cazares, Tess Mata, Nevaeh Bravo, Ellie Garcia, Jailah Silguero, Elijah Torres, names that will forever be etched in the memories of those touched and affected by this horrible tragedy.
GEORGE RODRIGUEZ, JOSE FLORES JR.'S GRANDFATHER: The state, the nation, show him to the world. I want everybody to know him. When he died, I died with him.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
Some prominent figures in the sports world have been making headlines by taking a stand and demanding change after the horrific Texas school shooting. San Francisco Giants manager, Gabe Kapler is one. He says he will no longer come out onto the field for the national anthem.
He told reporters that he doesn't think America is living up to its ideals.
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GABE KAPLER, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS MANAGER: I just don't plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel like there's -- I feel better about the direction of our country. So that'll be the step.
I don't expect it to move the needle necessarily. It's just something that I feel strongly enough about to take that step.
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HOLMES: He's just one voice among many. "CNN SPORT's" Andy Scholes looks at how other athletes and teams are demanding action from Washington to end America's epidemic of gun violence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: In the wake of what happened in Uvalde, sports figures and teams have been using their voice to advocate for change. The Warriors head coach, Steve Kerr, on the day of the shooting, was very emotional, demanding politicians do more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE KERR, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS HEAD COACH: When are we going to do something?
I'm tired -- I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences to the devastated families that are out there. We are being held hostage by 50 senators in Washington, who refuse to even put it to a vote, despite what we, the American people, want.
They won't vote on it because they want to hold onto their own power. It's pathetic. I've had enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES (voice-over): On Wednesday, the Heat and Celtics held a moment of silence for the lives lost. And then their public address announcer delivered this message.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Heat urges you to contact your state senators by calling (202) 224-3121 to leave a message, demanding their support for common sense gun laws. You can also make change at the ballot box. Visit heat.com/vote to register and let your voice be heard this fall.
SCHOLES (voice-over): The Warriors, a very similar message advocating for common sense gun laws before game 5 of the Western Conference finals. Kerr again speaking out that day, saying, "We as a country need to start thinking of gun control as a public health issue."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERR: For whatever reason, it's a political issue. But it's really a public health issue. So as soon as we can just shift the dynamic to this being a public health issue, then you get momentum.
So what I'm asking people to do is to get involved in their local communities. I've got lots of friends who are Democrats, Republicans. And all I know is that they all want gun violence to go away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES (voice-over): The Yankees and the Rays in Major League Baseball meanwhile, teaming up. Instead of tweeting about their game, they presented facts about gun violence in our country.
The Rays adding, "This cannot become normal. We cannot become numb. We cannot look the other way. We all know, if nothing changes, nothing changes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, meanwhile, says politicians have failed the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE ROBERTS, L.A. DODGERS MANAGER: How there can be a bipartisan consensus on an issue like this is very disheartening. It's very irresponsible by our nation's leaders. And something needs to be done and be proactive about it because like everyone has said, enough is enough.
When is enough, enough?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: LeBron James tweeting that, "There simply has to be change. Has to be."
While NFL Network's Rich Eisen made a passionate plea for something to be done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICH EISEN, NFL NETWORK: We cannot give up.
[00:55:00]
EISEN: We cannot give up as a society and we cannot give up on giving our two cents and keeping the pressure on those in power, who do nothing about it.
Children murdered in their classroom, murdered, in their classroom. And you're already seeing the responses from those in power, who refuse to do anything about it, saying it's about anything else other than easy legal access to assault weaponry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And sports teams and figures have in the past been very powerful helping to enact social change. And they're once again using their platform to try to make a difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Andy Scholes there. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. I'm Michael Holmes. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @HolmesCNN. Stick around, I'll have more news in just a moment.
