UVALDE: Investigator Texas Saturday were trying to determine how critical mistakes were made in the response to the fatal Uvalde The shooting, in which about 20 police officers stayed outside a grade school classroom as children called 911 for help.
Why the officers waited in the hallway for about an hour before entering and fatally shot the gunman is the focus of the investigation. Texas Department of Public Security In the massacre of 19 children and two teachers, the deadliest US school shooting in nearly a decade.
Investigators are still looking for the motive for the attack. Salvador RamosA high school dropout, he had no criminal record and no history of mental illness.
At least two children made 911 calls from nearby fourth-grade classrooms after 18-year-old Ramos entered Tuesday with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, Colonel Steven. McCrawThe director of the Texas Department of Public Safety said earlier this week.
“He’s in room 112”, a girl whispered on the phone at 12:03 p.m., 45 minutes before a US Border Patrol-led tactical team raided at 12:51 p.m. and ended the siege of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Gave. , a city of 16,000 people west of San Antonio.
The same girl pleaded with the 911 operator to “please send the police now” at 12:43 p.m. and again four minutes later.
McCraw said the on-site commander, who heads the school district’s police department, believed Ramos was barricaded inside and that the children were not at immediate risk, giving officers time to prepare.
“From the benefit of where I’m sitting now, of course, it wasn’t the right decision,” McCraw said. “It was the wrong decision, period”.
Standard law enforcement protocol calls for police to confront an active school shooter without delay, rather than wait for backup or more firepower, a point McCraw acknowledged.
McCraw described other moments when Ramos may have been thwarted. A school official, answering a call about an armed man crashing a car into the funeral home across the street, leaned near a vehicle on school property, leaving Ramos behind. Police said Ramos fired shots at two people standing outside before setting up a fence on the school grounds.
In violation of school district security policies, McCraw said the door through which Ramos had access to the building had been left open by a teacher.
As criticism of law enforcement’s response grew, police officers from cities such as Houston and Dallas began arriving in Uvalde to assist local officials, in some cases providing security to Uvalde’s own police, the mayor, and the gun shop where Ramos is located. had bought. his arsenal.
Police cruisers stood outside the home of the school district’s police chief, Pedro Arredondo. The police response to the shooting has drawn sharp criticism from McCraw and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, among others.
Questions about police efforts to stop Ramos came as the United States’ leading gun-rights advocacy group, the National Rifle Association, held its annual convention 275 miles (443 km) away in Houston.
Abbott, a Republican and staunch gun rights proponent who addressed the meeting in a pre-recorded video, seized on the apparent police lapse in Uvalde, telling a news conference that he was later misled and “about what happened.” worried about.”
Abbott denied newly enacted Texas gun laws, including a controversial measure removing licensing requirements for carrying a concealed weapon, had “any relevance” to Tuesday’s bloodbath. He suggested that state MPs take a renewed focus on tackling mental illness.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat who has urged Congress to approve new gun restrictions, will visit Uvalde on Sunday to comfort families and honor young victims.
Why the officers waited in the hallway for about an hour before entering and fatally shot the gunman is the focus of the investigation. Texas Department of Public Security In the massacre of 19 children and two teachers, the deadliest US school shooting in nearly a decade.
Investigators are still looking for the motive for the attack. Salvador RamosA high school dropout, he had no criminal record and no history of mental illness.
At least two children made 911 calls from nearby fourth-grade classrooms after 18-year-old Ramos entered Tuesday with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, Colonel Steven. McCrawThe director of the Texas Department of Public Safety said earlier this week.
“He’s in room 112”, a girl whispered on the phone at 12:03 p.m., 45 minutes before a US Border Patrol-led tactical team raided at 12:51 p.m. and ended the siege of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Gave. , a city of 16,000 people west of San Antonio.
The same girl pleaded with the 911 operator to “please send the police now” at 12:43 p.m. and again four minutes later.
McCraw said the on-site commander, who heads the school district’s police department, believed Ramos was barricaded inside and that the children were not at immediate risk, giving officers time to prepare.
“From the benefit of where I’m sitting now, of course, it wasn’t the right decision,” McCraw said. “It was the wrong decision, period”.
Standard law enforcement protocol calls for police to confront an active school shooter without delay, rather than wait for backup or more firepower, a point McCraw acknowledged.
McCraw described other moments when Ramos may have been thwarted. A school official, answering a call about an armed man crashing a car into the funeral home across the street, leaned near a vehicle on school property, leaving Ramos behind. Police said Ramos fired shots at two people standing outside before setting up a fence on the school grounds.
In violation of school district security policies, McCraw said the door through which Ramos had access to the building had been left open by a teacher.
As criticism of law enforcement’s response grew, police officers from cities such as Houston and Dallas began arriving in Uvalde to assist local officials, in some cases providing security to Uvalde’s own police, the mayor, and the gun shop where Ramos is located. had bought. his arsenal.
Police cruisers stood outside the home of the school district’s police chief, Pedro Arredondo. The police response to the shooting has drawn sharp criticism from McCraw and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, among others.
Questions about police efforts to stop Ramos came as the United States’ leading gun-rights advocacy group, the National Rifle Association, held its annual convention 275 miles (443 km) away in Houston.
Abbott, a Republican and staunch gun rights proponent who addressed the meeting in a pre-recorded video, seized on the apparent police lapse in Uvalde, telling a news conference that he was later misled and “about what happened.” worried about.”
Abbott denied newly enacted Texas gun laws, including a controversial measure removing licensing requirements for carrying a concealed weapon, had “any relevance” to Tuesday’s bloodbath. He suggested that state MPs take a renewed focus on tackling mental illness.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat who has urged Congress to approve new gun restrictions, will visit Uvalde on Sunday to comfort families and honor young victims.