I am sure there are a number of things that could have been better. Only hindsight will help in that assessment. I don't know what went through the minds of these decision makers. Perhaps they didn't care. Or perhaps they knew that putting people into situations like that was suicide, given the gang activity. Maybe they didn't think anyone would go.
I really don't know. I do know that people generally want to do what is right, and will do so in this case again. Each time something happens, we all learn. The US has the best disaster response people on the planet. I guess we just have to let them do their jobs now.