Uvalde’s Darkest Hour

Garnett, owner of the Uvalde Leader-News, recaps in this harrowing debut how he and his team of reporters covered the worst school shooting in Texas history, which left two teachers and 19 fourth-graders dead. Garnett surveys events leading up to the massacre at Robb Elementary in May 2022, the horrific day itself, and the unsatisfying aftermath, which left surviving family members wondering why 77 law enforcement officers delayed confronting the shooter for over an hour, despite clear guidance instituted after the 1999 Columbine massacre that first responders must “confront the shooter as quickly as possible.” He spotlights the bravery of the children caught in the rampage, one of whom advised a classmate to coat herself in a friend’s blood to appear dead. He also delves into warning signs exhibited by the murderer, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former Robb Elementary student, who gave plenty of indications on social media of his homicidal intentions; as Garnett points out, Ramos was nicknamed “ ‘Yubo’s school shooter’ on the French social networking app of that name.” Throughout, Garnett emphasizes how, as members of the mourning community (the child of an Uvalde Leader-News staff reporter was killed), his team placed limits on the lengths they would go in service of the story, in contrast with nonlocal media, which he characterizes as careless and mercenary. It’s an essential, up-close view of the tragedy in Uvalde. (Nov.)