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‘I’m watching’: Texas dad goes viral for standing guard outside son’s school after Uvalde massacre

May 30, 2022 | | Print Article

Texas father goes viral standing guard outside son’s elementary school after Uvalde massacre: ‘I’m watching’

(Video Credit: Fox & Friends First)

An Army veteran spoke with Fox News on the viral photo that shows him steadfastly standing guard at his son’s school following the Uvalde, Texas massacre.

“I said I would just be out there unarmed to let people know that I’m watching. Let the parents have a little bit of relief,” Ed Chelby said in an interview with a KWTX.

“I can’t let this go,” he declared. “This is just a testament to the sleeplessness caused by the grief I experienced.”

The central Texas father who also has a background in security spoke with “Fox & Friends First” on Monday to discuss the picture of him protecting the entrance to the elementary school where his son attends and his wife works.

Chelby lives in Killeen, which is about 180 miles northeast of Uvalde. His son’s school is Saegert Elementary School.

Fox News host Todd Piro welcomed Chelby and asked him about the decision to stand guard. “That vet, Ed Chelby joins us now. Ed, I had the same thought last week. I said, ‘I work mornings. I’ll take the afternoon shift at my kids’ school when they end up going there.’ Why did you make this a reality?”

“Well, I just knew with my background in security and my background in the military that I had the skillset to actually provide some sort of security. I do live right across the street on the backside of the school. I have a son that goes there, my wife is one of the registered nurses there. I just felt overly compelled with my availability to step forward and do something. I think that’s the first thing any of us can do in the path forward is take the first step,” he commented.

“Yeah, and with your family there I couldn’t imagine how that makes you feel and the security of knowing that you’re there if something were to happen,” co-host Ashley Strohmier said. “I want to read you this quote. It was a mother whose child attends the school, saying, ‘Him standing in front of the school, that’s reassuring. Feeling that we get to go home and see our families this summer.’ I want you to react to that and how that makes you feel knowing that you’re giving these people and these families just the feeling of security… your presence being there,”

“Yeah, that was the whole point of me being there. I mean, selfishly it was for myself as well, for the ease of my own son, my wife, her co-workers, and the other children. I coach baseball in the community and a lot of the students I’ve also coached in baseball. And then the parents, they were feeling the same anxiety I was the night before and the day of and to be out there and provide them some sort of ease, knowing that somebody was out there watching. I would do it all over again,” Chelby asserted.

“To follow up on Ashley’s question, she asked the reaction from parents… what’s been the reaction from students seeing you there?” Piro asked.

“Some of them were kind of wondering why I was still standing there and they kind of look back at me. In the end, after the picture had gone viral and the parents were letting them know who I was and what I was doing there, it was just super heartwarming. A lot of the kids coming up to me and giving me a hug and it’s hard not to get emotional knowing what happened with Uvalde and then having the reaction of the parents. But then when a child comes up to you and just gives you a hug it just warms your heart beyond belief,” Chelby replied.

“And Eddie, you’re a veteran yourself so tell us and America what your message is on this Memorial Day,” Strohmier said.

“Well, I’d say that on Memorial Day we’re supposed to be honoring those who gave their ultimate sacrifice in defense of American ideas and our freedoms and there’s no better way to do that than to honor them by moving forward, taking a stand on action and just really honoring them by doing something for your community. They gave us their sacrifice for their country and the very first step is within our own communities. So let’s start there,” Chelby concluded.

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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9 thoughts on “‘I’m watching’: Texas dad goes viral for standing guard outside son’s school after Uvalde massacre”

  1. Hooorrraaayyy for Ed Chelby, In one form or another Dads on Duty is catching on.

    Another great example.
    We Serve

    WW – 1 TO PRESENT
    AMERICAN
    MILITARY
    MEN AND WOMEN

    SERVED 40,151,000

    WOUNDED 1,136,000 2.8%

    KIA 668,000 1.7%

    CAME HOME TO SERVE SOME MORE
    (Includes the wounded most of whom continue[d] to serve the nation)
    39,483,000 98.3%

    USA, BLESS GOD AGAIN ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

    GOD BLESS THE USA ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

    Barry Age 77
    PO1 USN RET
    Vietnam 3x (Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club)

    #F J B #L G B

  2. This is the only way to keep our kids safe at school. There are so many veterans and trained personnel that would be willing to stand guard at our schools. We have armed security for our politicians and celebrities (most of whom are screaming to take away our guns), at banks, jewelry stores, and courtrooms but for some reason, some people believe that putting up a sign that says, “This is a gun free zone” is going to keep criminals out of our schools.

  3. I think this is a great start.

    If each school had 5-10 armed, vetted, well trained, military members, retirees, veterans, retired law enforcement, retired corrections officers, and parent volunteers on campuses, at every ingress and egress point, that knows the layout and blueprint of the building, that could respond to a threat before the person can make it into the building to cause harm, would dissuade the majority of shooters from targeting that school.

    They would have to run that gauntlet to get inside.

    Add in some teachers and administrators inside the buildings that are also well trained, vetted and armed, these shooters, if they made it past the perimeter guards, would have to run a second gauntlet of defense that in all likelihood would stop any threat before it reached our children.

    They put up signs advertising to any disturbed, sick evil person that our schools are “gun free zones”, which tells them schools are an easy target. We don’t advertise “gun zones”.

    If a perpetrator knows that there are likely to be people armed and ready to stop them, they will go elsewhere.

    1. Well said but there are those who are willing to sacrifice our children to further their anti-gun agenda.

  4. When the COWARD police stand by while kids are bleeding to death parents must take action to protect their kids. Just standing at the doors watching and being seen can prevent another massacre. Hope the COWARD cops are all fired for being unfit to be cops. They should also be charged for dereliction of duty which resulted in the deaths of children..

  5. I applaud his enthusiasm, but unarmed, he is just another easy target. Just lookin’ at the guy’s picture, I’d bet my bottom dollar he will not be unarmed.

  6. I am so grateful he took a stand. When you hear the left that has been pushing their goals for a mother to be able to have an abortion in the last trimester up until at least the first month after birth to let the baby die and no questions asked, all people should have a problem with that. They have already excluded themselves from making any comments or decisions. I am not sorry to add in the kids that have died within short spans of jabs and I am not happy that NY is or has been the first city/state to normalize heart issues with the young. All their goals run consecutively with attacking our children from all angles. Democrats are only using this as another weapon against humanity and I am very sad to say with each tragedy they feel closer to their goals of NWO. People need to wake up.

  7. Who will be the first to complain about such violent men? Little mommies need to accept that good guys with guns can/will stop bad guys with guns. I know they don’t have weapons but it would help.

    1. It’s not just the mommies. It’s the teachers, school boards, local, state and federal government legislators that don’t want this to happen because if it did, it would crush their anti-gun agenda.

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