Editor, The Beacon:

Why did it take the police in Uvalde, Texas, so long to storm the classroom and get the killer? Police were already outside and inside the school, and knew which room the shooter was in. The answer is obvious.

The classroom doors were closed, and word on the street was the killer had an automatic weapon.

“Bill, you got a rifle and a handgun, go in there and take that guy out!”

“No! As soon as I open the door, I’ll get shot! You go in there, Fred!”

It didn’t matter how many other policemen had joined Bill and Fred; only one could go in the door at a time.

The shooter was somewhere in the room, and it could take a few moments to spot him. Plenty of time for the killer to blast away a dozen times, so police were naturally hesitant to die.

That’s the obvious answer to the dumb question of why they didn’t go in sooner. We shouldn’t expect policemen to be so duty-bound that they’ll jump in front of a rifle and become a martyr.

The solution is to do something about automatic weapons. Are they needed for hunting or target practice? No. If we banned them, would that start a slippery slope toward total gun control? No. That’s another dumb question, but one the gun lobby uses to defend their cause of anything goes.

We don’t need automatic weapons. Their entire use is apparently for killing, and this barbaric action happens all the time in the U.S.

Where is our common sense? What chance does Bill or Fred have upon opening that door? Would you have gone inside?

Gary Anglin

DeLand and Gainesville