ronald garza. when you see what looks like members of your community screaming, pleading with the governor, pleading with the president, do something, what do you hear on a local level? i understand that there's not much you can do on a local level when it comes to either the gun issue or the social issues that lead to this. what's your reaction to that? >> you know, dana, i'm a good listener, and i hear both sides of the story, you know, groups saying we need more gun control. the other group saying it's not a gun problem but a people problem. >> what do you think? >> personally, i think, and this is just my opinion, when it is all done and said, it's the individual that goes to purchase that automatic weapon, it makes it hard for people to defend them themselves. when a shooter is there with an automatic rifle, with so many rounds of bullets, it makes it just that much harder for the victims, that much harder for law enforcement to do something. it just makes it that much harder. >> speaking of l

. >> joining me to discuss is uvalde county commissioner ronald garza. thank you for taking the time this morning. >> good morning, jim. thank you for having me on your network. >> so you heard us there with the update that there will be no swearing in today for arredondo. should he be sworn in at all to the city council given events at the school? >> well, he was elected to that position. personally i think he should be sworn in. i think it was postponed just as a measure of respect for the funeral services that will be taking place. that's my understanding. >> okay. how about his job as police chief? should he remain in that position? this was an enorm ous test of his leadership and resolve, and there are 19 schoolchildren and 2 teachers who lost their lives. >> yeah, well, that's a matter -- an issue that the school district will have to undertake. as a county commissioner, we don't oversee that, so -- but i'm confident the school district and mr. arredondo will come together and do what is right for the community of uvalde. >> what do you think is ri

commissioner ronald garza's uvalde county commissioner.ll next talk to someone who won after taking on the gun industry. but first i want to talk to you more about the victims. eliahana cruz torres loved softball and was looking forward to the last game of the season. amerie jo garza loved play-doh and talking to our friends at recess. she just celebrated her tenth birthday recently. uziyah garcia recently visited his granddad, teaching him how to play football. he was eight years old. was eight years old matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire - common percy! - yeah let's go! on a trip. book with priceline. you save more, so you can “woooo” more. - wooo. - wooo. wooooo!!!!! woohooooo!!!! w-o-o-o-o-o... yeah, feel the savings. priceline. every trip is a big deal. like pulsing, electric shocks, sharp, stabbing pains, or an intense burning sensation. what is this nightmare? it's how some people describe... shingles. a painful, blistering rash that could interrupt your life for weeks. forget social events and weekend getaways. if

>> brennan: we turn now to uvalde county commission, ronald garza.are all so sorry. >> good morning, margaret. >> brennan: we're all so sorry for what your community is going through, not just with this awful has ker, but -- massacre, but with these painful responses. do you know why the school district police officer was thot not there when the shooting began? >> i have no idea. i'm like a lot of people, margaret, i'm still in the dark. we're still learning about new developments that are coming to l light. my heart goes out to the community. we're emotionally shattered. and, you know, we're really sad right now. it is a time of mourning in our community. >> brennan: i know. i've read that it is also a time of anger, and that the chief of police for the school district is now under police protection himself. is that right? is that reflective of the feeling in the community right now? >> well, you know, rightly so people are asking questions. parents lost children. they're devastated. and it's just a sad situation. and i think the community deserves

uvalde county commissioner ronald garza. >> a lot of things are coming to light now.s obvious that there were some errors made but we need to learn from those errors. parents need to know they have to have answers. >> reporter: parents in this community are demanding. after they learned that as many as 19 officers including a federal tactical team waited outside the classroom for more than 40 minutes, before confronting and killing the shooter. >> families were fighting to get in. while they were -- the shooter had an hour, almost an hour, 40 minutes, and, you know, people were fighting and social -- there's a lot of questions right now. >> reporter: martin fiero's daughter survived the shooting. now the father is not only counting his blessings but holding them close. >> i cried when i held them, i was able to hold them again because i knew that a lot of parents -- parents were not going to be able to hold their children. >> reporter: several funerals for the 21 victims will happen later on this week but residents here say it will take much longer to heal. errol. >>

uvalde county commissioner ronald garza. >> a lot of things coming to light. it's obvious there were some errors made but we need to learn from those errors. parents need to know they have to have answers. >> parents in this community are demanding after they learned that as many as 19 officers, including a federal tactical team, waited outside the classroom for more than 40 minutes before confronting and killing the shooter. >> families were fighting to get in while they were -- the shooter had an hour, almost an hour, 40 minutes and people were fighting. >> martin fiero's daughter survived. now he's not only counting his blessing, but he's holding them close. >> i cried when i could hold them again. i knew a lot of parents couldn't hold their children. >> reporter: several funerals for the 21 victims will happen later on this week. residents say it will take much longer to heal. err sflol. >> omar villafranca. thank you. >>> meanwhile, gun violence continued this weekend. four cities suffered mass shootings saturday alone killing at least two people, inj ast

. >>> i'm here in uvalde, texas, joining me now is ronald garza, a county commissioner in uvalde, a life-long member of the community. commissioner, you're not just a life-long member, you're like many people here, multi-generational from here. your grandfather, or your father -- >> my father. >> your father was a teacher at robb elementary, and the trees that we're looking at there, they were not there, they're trees that your father planted. >> he arrived in 1965, not a single tree out here. and my dad went and bought small three-foot high trees on his own, pecan tree, and planted them and watered them every day after school. >> you're deeply committed to this place. >> went to school here myself. >> tell me how the community is dealing with this. i drove in today, and it's small. it's a small place. it's busy. a lot of traffic here. main street thoroughfare. but it's a small place. 21 people died. everybody must know them. >> you know, a small tight knit community comes up a lot. in the last few days. we're grieving. we're mourning. you know, we're so tight knit of a community, that my two

. >> uvalde county commissioner ronald garza. for your time and for being with us. your message is heard loud and clear. thank you. that does it for us this hour. "deadline white house" with nicole wallace starts right now. ♪♪ ♪♪ >>> hi there, everyone. it's 4:00 in new york. a split screen moment in america that really illustrates where we are as a nation when it comes to gun violence in the backdrop of a nationwide outcry for lawmakers to do something, anything, to stem the seeming

with us now is the uvalde county commissioner, ronald garza. mr. commissioner, thank you so much for being here. i know this is a really, really tough time. >> thank you for having me. >> have you seen that video yet of the parents beseeching law enforcement in that hour after the shooting started to go in and do something? >> yes, i have seen it. >> reporter: do you have any sense of why there was that hour lapse? >> you know, there's so much information out there. i'm like a lot of people, still in the dark as to all the details of what took place. >> reporter: were those parents right to be begging law enforcement to go in during that time? >> i think so. as parents, i think they had the right to defend their children. >> reporter: do you have any idea if there have been active shooter drills here in uvalde? obviously, this is such a hideous reality across the country that so many local police forces have had to do that. do you know if they've done that here recently? >> not to my knowledge. no. i have no knowledge of that. i couldn't answer tha

all right, i am here in uvalde, texas and joining me now is ronald garza, a county commissioner hereelong member of the community. commissioner, you are not just a lifelong member. like many people here, you are multigenerational and from here. your grandfather -- your father? >> my father. >> he was a teacher at robb elementary school and you described it to me like a desert. the trees that were there, they were not there. they are pecan trees. >> yes, pecan trees. >> and your father planted them? >> yes, when he arrived in 1965, there was not a tree here at all. he went three foot high pecan trees on his own and planted and water them every day after school. >> so, you are really deeply connected here. >> yes, i went to school here myself. >> tell me how the community is dealing with this. i drove in today and it is small. it is a small place. it is busy and it is a small place today. 21 people died, and everyone must know them. >> it is a small tight-knit community, it comes up a lot these last few days. and we are grieving. we are mourning. and we are so tight-knit as a community

. >> uvalde county commissioner ronald garza. thank you very much for your time and for being with us. your message is heard loud and clear. thank you. that does it for us this hour. "deadline white house" with nicole wallace starts right now. ♪♪ ♪♪ >>> hi there, everyone. it's 4:00 in new york. a split screen moment in america that really illustrates where we are as a nation when it comes to gun violence in the backdrop of a nationwide outcry for lawmakers to do something, anything, to stem the seemingly neverending tide of gun violence. the annual convention of the nra kicked off today in houston. the keynote speaker is the arguably the most president voice of the republican party, the twice-impeached ex-president. greg abbot pulled out of an in-person appearance to return to uvalde. he'll be holding a press conference there in a few minutes, but back at the nra stage there will also be a speech from senator ted cruz who recently stormed off when he was asked by a reporter why mass shootings only seemed to happen in this countr