The gunman at Uvalde, Texas, elementary school was treated as a barricaded subject, not an active shooter, according to the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, who spoke on Friday.
On Thursday, law enforcement officials faced questions and criticism about how long it took them to storm a Texas elementary school classroom and put an end to a gunman’s rampage that killed 19 children and two teachers.
After admitting that not trying to enter the classroom was a mistake, TX DPS Director broke down in tears.
“We took an oath to defend people.”
TX DPS Director just broke down crying after admitting that the decision not to enter the classroom was a mistake.
“We took an oath to defend people.” @wfaa #Uvalde pic.twitter.com/CacxfWOpJW
— Adriana De Alba (@adealbaWFAA) May 27, 2022
During the siege, which ended when a U.S. Border Patrol team burst in and shot the gunman to death, frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the school, according to witnesses.
“Go in there! Go in there!” women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who watched the scene from outside a house across the street.
In the days since the shooting, law enforcement officials have been bombarded with questions about whether officers on the scene could have done more to stop the gunman. Parents have reported being handcuffed and Tased by law enforcement officers when they implored officers to act or attempted to retrieve their children, according to videos that have circulated on social media.
At the same time, DPS officials — who, along with local police, are leading the shooting investigation — have given conflicting accounts of how the police response unfolded.
DPS officials, for example, initially stated that the 18-year-old gunman was confronted by a school district police officer when he arrived on school grounds but gave conflicting accounts as to whether or not the officer fired at the gunman.
On Thursday, the agency reversed course, saying that no campus police officer confronted the gunman when he stepped onto the premises.
Around 11:20 a.m., Uvalde police received the first call. Tuesday, the gunman’s grandmother called 911 to report that he had shot her in the face at her home, which was just two minutes away from Robb Elementary. At 11:28 a.m., the shooter fled in his grandmother’s pickup truck, which he crashed in a ditch near the school.
“District police officers engaged the gunman when he arrived at the school, but the shooter was able to enter a back door, travel down two short hallways and enter a classroom, which was connected internally to another classroom…” https://t.co/Ri6ecyitOb
— ((EWW, DAVID!)) 🥶 🇺🇦🌻 (@ColoradoDCN) May 25, 2022
The gunman was able to enter through a back door, travel down two short hallways, and enter a classroom that was internally connected to another classroom when a district police officer arrived at the school.
There were plenty of officers at the scene but no one can explain why they couldn’t stop the madman.
Here are some comments from folks online:
“Absolute disgrace. Arm yourselves and protect your family, don’t depend on police”
“This is intolerable.”
“And then there is this. WTF is going on? Why is there so much weirdness around this?”
“Something doesn’t smell right”
“It’s truly astounding that those armed police officers just watched as the gunman arrived at the school and let him enter. What on Earth are these people for then?”
“apparently they were on location before Ramos arrived? How does that fit into the timeline?”
“my question… who recorded that video and why were they there before Ramos entered the building?”
“I would like to know why the teacher propped the door open.”
“Apparently the teacher left the door propped open to get something out of her car but then when she came back she kept the door propped?? I dunno. It doesn’t make sense.”
Watch it here: Rumble/Video
Sources: Waynedupree, Reuters, Texastribune