A month after 19 children and two educators were killed at Robb Elementary School, a picture is emerging of a disastrous police response, in which officers from several law enforcement agencies waited for an hour outside an unlocked classroom where children were trapped with the attacker. But journalists who have flocked to Uvalde, Texas, from across the country to tell that story have faced near-constant interference, intimidation and stonewalling from some of the same authorities — and not only bikers claiming to have police sanction. Above, two bikers from Guardians of the Children use their hats to block photojournalist Kevin Downs from covering a funeral service for Nevaeh Bravo, one of the victims killed in the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
When tragedy comes to town in the 21st century, the media follows, focusing the world’s eyes on a community during its most difficult hours. Columbine, Sandy Hook, now Uvalde, Texas — the list of places synonymous with horrible mass killings keeps growing. Journalists are called upon to explain what happened, and sometimes to ask uncomfortable questions in places where many people want to be left alone to grieve. Is it possible to do it better, to co-exist within a moment no one wants to be part of?
In the initial hours after Tuesday’s horrific Texas school massacre, in which 19 children and two adults were killed, CNN’s Jake Tapper noted that politicians’ expressions of thoughts and prayers “has sadly become a cliche at this point.” But even calling it a cliche seems like a cliche, because the mass shootings, and school massacres in particular, keep happening. Broadcast networks broke in with special reports during the afternoon, and plans are to dispatch morning and evening news anchors to Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
