Gunman walked into school building unopposed
The gunman who killed 21 people inside a Uvalde elementary school walked into the unlocked building unopposed, the Department of Public Safety said in a revised statement, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman and other media sources.
After the gunman crashed his grandmother’s truck in a ditch, he walked into the building while firing a semiautomatic weapon purchased just days after his 18th birthday. The shooter was inside a classroom for about an hour. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed before a tactical team got inside the building and killed him.
The massacre is the second-deadliest school shooting in modern U.S. history.
Five Texas refineries exceed benzene limit
Five Texas refineries and one in Louisiana operated by a San Antonio company last year exceeded federal pollution limits for benzene emissions, which is listed as a carcinogenic chemical by the Environmental Protection Agency. Long-term exposure to benzene has caused blood disorders, according to a story in the San Antonio Express-News.
“In Texas, Marathon Petroleum’s Galveston Bay refinery, TotalEnergies’ Port Arthur refinery, Chevron’s Pasadena refinery, Flint Hills Resources’ Corpus Christi East refinery and Lyondell-Basell’s Houston refinery reported average benzene emissions in 2021 that were above the federal threshold of 9 micrograms per cubic meter,” the Express-News reported.
More than 6 million people in the United States live within 3 miles of an oil refinery, according to the EPA.
Boaters urged to ‘clean, drain, and dry’
As summer approaches and Texans head to the state’s lakes and rivers, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department urges boaters and paddlers to do their part to prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species that are threatening Texas lakes.
“The best way to prevent the spread of many destructive aquatic invasive species is to clean, drain and dry your boats and equipment – every time,” Brian Van Zee, TPWD inland fisheries regional director, said.
Zebra mussels and giant salvinia continue to spread to new waterbodies in the state. Other highly invasive species that can be spread by boaters include water hyacinth, crested floating heart and quagga mussels.
“Boaters need to remove all plants, mud and debris from boats, trailers, vehicles and gear and drain the water from the boat, all equipment and on-board receptacles before leaving the lake. In addition, boats should be dried completely before visiting another lake, preferably for at least a week,” the news release said.
Gary Borders is a veteran award-winning Texas journalist. He published a number of community newspapers in Texas during a 30-year span, including in Longview, Fort Stockton, Nacogdoches and Cedar Park. Email: gborders@ texaspress.com.