Sen. Cornyn Reaps Wrath After Denouncing Uvalde 'Finger Pointing'

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, seeking to tamp down on "second guessing and finger pointing" aimed at the Uvalde, Texas, first responders to the elementary school mass shooting there, raised the voices of Democrats and Twitter critics this weekend.

"The second guessing and finger pointing among state and local law enforcement is destructive, distracting, and unfair," Cornyn tweeted Saturday, starting a firestorm of responses. "Complex scenarios require split second decisions. Easy to criticize with 20-20 hindsight."

Uvalde police reportedly left the shooter inside of the classroom with survivors for around 40 minutes. There were 19 children killed, along with two teachers, but active shooter experts are denouncing the delays.

"There will be plenty of time to sort this out later," Cornyn added in an ensuing tweet. "Focus now should be on a thorough investigation and lessons learned to prevent future tragedies, not finger pointing."

Democrats seized on Cornyn's tweets.

"I saw 18-year-old boys in war do split-second decisions," Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Texas, a U.S. Marine combat veteran, tweeted. "There is no excuse. These officers need to be held accountable."

Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., expanded the argument to say Republicans want gun-toting Americans to make the split-second decisions.

"Wait until he finds out that there are politicians who think every American should be able to make those catastrophically deadly split-second decisions with no training and with military grade firearms," Yarmuth tweeted.

Cornyn did not engage either Democrat critic, but he did respond to "firearms reporter" Stephen Gutowski, who sought to punish Uvalde police for "horrendous misjudgment."

"Steve, the story has changed multiple times already, as you know," Cornyn tweeted back. "My only point is we need a thorough investigation and to nail down facts before reaching a conclusion. Accountability should follow."

There are reports of children making 911 calls, pleading for police help, from inside the classroom the police had confined the shooter to for almost an hour.

Also, CBS KENS-5 in San Antonio reported a boy in the classroom said police asked the children in the school to yell for help, but when one girl did, the shooter executed her.

• Rep. Pat Fallon to Newsmax: We Need to Be Defending Police, 'Not Defunding Them'
• Bill Bratton: Children Left 'Bleeding Out'; Police Failed to Move In