Moment Officer Is Held Back From Going in to Save His Wife From Uvalde Mass Shooter – Opinion

We’ve seen a lot of horrible moments from the Uvalde mass shooting.

Perhaps one of the worst stories was how the police held people back from saving their kids and family members, while police waited and didn’t act for 77 minutes. They held Angeli Gomez, her mother, hostage, until she was released. Then she scaled a fence to save her kids, who were being held in different classrooms.

Ruben Ruiz was among those held back. A police officer was attacked by some people who saw the videos. He had been seen taking out his cell phone and checking it while the officers waited outside. Ruiz had called Eva Mireles his wife and said that she was being shot. So, it’s completely understandable why he might be checking his phone.

But now, they’ve also released body cam video of some of those moments, including talking about Ruiz checking his phone, and part of that moment was when the police held Ruiz back from going in to save his wife. It’s hard to even imagine what must have been going through Ruiz’s mind at that moment, as they all were waiting there, with his wife on the other side of the wall.

There are many difficult moments on the Uvalde bodycams. But this is one that’s hard to see as a husband.

UCISD Ofc. Ruben Ruiz received a phone call from Eva Mireles, his wife and teacher. She said that she had been killed.

He attempted to navigate through the officers in order to reach her.

He was retorted. #khou11 pic.twitter.com/S6NNfFCT3v

— Marcelino Benito (@MarcelinoKHOU) July 20, 2022

Ruiz tries to rush past the other police officers, protesting when they grab him, “She said she’s shot, man.” The police not only prevented him from going forward, but also took his gun away from him and escorted him away from the scene. But it also shows that they knew that she was still alive in the classroom at that point and still didn’t go in to save her, even though they prevented her husband from doing so.

But because the police waited so long and failed on a host of issues, they weren’t able to save Eva Mireles. If I were one of those officers who didn’t go in, I’m not sure I would know how to face Ruiz again after he was held back.