The Texas Department of Public Safety held a press conference on Friday after reporting conflicting stories and questionable timelines in the massacre that led to 19 students and two teachers dead at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Col. Steven McCraw, Texas DPS Director, said it was the “wrong decision” not to breach the classroom door after authorities waited for over an hour in a nearby hallway while the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, barricaded himself in the 4th-grade classroom.
According to McCraw, 8 or 9 children were alive, calling 911 and begging officers to come in and help while officers stood in a hallway on campus.
“Please send police,” one of the children said on the 911 call.
McCraw said an on-scene commander made the call to do nothing because the “ situation shifted from active shooter to barricaded suspect and thought no child was at risk.”
Outside of the school, parents also heard the gunshots and begged for officers to go inside and take action.
Instead, officers created a perimeter around the school, handcuffed and even tased some parents trying to enter the school to rescue their children.
The on-scene commander, Chief of Police of the Ulvade Independent School District, didn’t attend the press conference.
Ballistics show the gunman shot at least 100 rounds, according to McCraw.
The timeline of events, according to McCraw, starts at 11:28 a.m. Tuesday morning, the gunman crashed his car in a ditch near the school and shot two people.
At 11:30 a.m., a teacher at Robb Elementary hears the gunshots and calls 911. At 11:31 a.m., the suspect begins shooting at the school.
At 11:33 a.m., the suspect enters the school from the open back door of the school. At 11:35 a.m., three police officers entered the school.
At 12:03 p.m., a child in the classroom called the police and whispered she was in room 112. At the same time, 19 officers were in a hallway in the school, according to McCraw.
Next, at 12:50 p.m., a janitor opens the door with his key, and a Customs Patrol Officer kills Ramos.
Additionally, the Uvalde school resource officer was not on campus at the shooting despite earlier reports from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“It could’ve been worse,” Abbott said in a press conference on Wednesday, praising police officers’ measures in the shooting.
This is a developing story.
Kennedy is a recent graduate of the University of St.Thomas in Houston where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Celt Independent. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. She does everything from covering crime beats, Texas politics, and community activism. Kennedy is a passionate reporter, avid reader, coffee enthusiast, and loves to travel.
