Gunman entered Texas elementary college unobstructed, was inside for an hour

The gunman who massacred 19 children and two lecturers at a Texas elementary college Tuesday was inside for more than an hour before he was killed in a shootout, law enforcement authorities stated Thursday amid mounting public anger and scrutiny over their response to the rampage.

A media briefing called by Texas security officials to make clear the timeline of the attack provided bits of previously unknown info.

By the point it ended, though, it had added to the troubling questions surrounding the attack in the town of Uvalde, including concerning the time it took police to succeed in the scene and confront the gunman, and the obvious failure to lock a school door he entered.

After two days of providing often conflicting data, investigators stated that a college district police officer was not inside Robb Elementary when 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos arrived round 11:30 a.m. local time, and, contrary to their previous reviews, the officer had not confronted Ramos exterior the constructing.

As a substitute, they sketched out a timeline notable for unexplained delays by regulation enforcement in responding to the assault.

Ramos crashed his truck near the again of the college at 11:28 a.m., then fired an AR-style rifle at two individuals coming out of a close-by funeral residence, mentioned Victor Escalon, regional director for the Texas Division of Public Security.

Ramos then entered the varsity "unobstructed" by way of an apparently unlocked door at about 11:40 a.m., Escalon said.

But the first police officers did not arrive on the scene until 12 minutes after the crash and didn't enter the varsity to pursue the shooter until 4 minutes after that. Inside, they had been pushed back by gunfire from Ramos and took cover, Escalon said.

The crisis got here to an end after a group of Border Patrol tactical officers entered the college roughly an hour later, at 12:45 p.m., said Texas Department of Public Security spokesperson Travis Considine. They engaged in a shootout with the gunman, who was holed up in a fourth grade classroom. Radio chatter at 12:58 p.m. indicated that he was dead.

In the hour in between, the officers called for backup, negotiators and tactical groups, whereas evacuating college students and teachers, Escalon said.

But he largely ignored questions on why officers were not able to stop the shooter sooner, saying he had "taken all these questions into consideration" and would offer updates.

Ken Trump, president of the consulting agency National College Safety and Security Providers, stated the length of the timeline raised questions.

"Primarily based on best practices, it's extremely difficult to understand why there were any varieties of delays, particularly while you get into stories of 40 minutes and up of going in to neutralize that shooter," he mentioned.

Many different particulars of the case and response remained murky. The motive for the massacre — the nation's deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., a decade in the past — stays beneath investigation, with authorities saying the gunman had no recognized felony or mental well being historical past.

In the course of the siege, frustrated onlookers urged law enforcement officials to charge into the college, in line with witnesses.

"Go in there! Go in there!" girls shouted at the officers quickly after the assault began, mentioned Juan Carranza, 24, who watched the scene from exterior a home across the road.

Carranza said the officers ought to have entered the college sooner: "There were more of them. There was just considered one of him."

Texas Department of Public Security Director Steve McCraw defended the agency Wednesday, saying, "The underside line is regulation enforcement was there. They did have interaction instantly. They did comprise him in the classroom."

Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz didn't give a timeline however mentioned repeatedly that the tactical officers from his agency who arrived at the school did not hesitate. He said they moved rapidly to enter the building, lining up in a "stack" behind an agent holding up a shield.

"What we needed to make sure is to act rapidly, act swiftly, and that's precisely what those agents did," Ortiz instructed Fox News.

But a legislation enforcement official mentioned that after within the constructing, the Border Patrol brokers had hassle breaching the classroom door and needed to get a staff member to open the room with a key. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not approved to speak publicly in regards to the investigation.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez instructed CNN that investigators have been attempting to establish whether the classroom was, in reality, locked or barricaded in some way.

Javier Cazares, whose daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, stated he raced to the school when he heard concerning the taking pictures. 

When he arrived, he mentioned he saw two officers outside the school and about five others escorting students out of the building. But 15 or 20 minutes handed earlier than the arrival of officers with shields, geared up to confront the gunman, he mentioned.

As extra parents flocked to the varsity, he and others pressed police to behave, Cazares said. He heard about four gunshots earlier than he and the others have been ordered again to a parking lot.

"A number of us have been arguing with the police, 'You all must go in there. You all must do your jobs.' Their response was, 'We can't do our jobs because you guys are interfering,"' Cazares said.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his spouse, Jill, will travel to Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday to console households and honour the victims of Tuesday's capturing.

The White Home stated the Bidens would "grieve with the group that lost 21 lives within the horrific" shooting at Robb Elementary College. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president would meet with the neighborhood, local non secular leaders and the victims' families.

Making the announcement, Jean-Pierre echoed Biden, who in remarks Tuesday evening, spoke from private experience about the ache of dropping a baby, and known as on the country to tighten gun laws in response to the capturing.

'"When in God's name are we going to face as much as the gun lobby?" he mentioned. "Why are we keen to dwell with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this occur?"

Before attacking the college, Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother at the house they shared.

Neighbour Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives throughout the road and has identified the household for many years, said he was puttering in his yard when he heard the photographs.

Gallegos said he saw a car racing away from the home: "He spun out, I mean fast, spraying gravel within the air."

The grandmother quickly emerged from the house, lined in blood.

"She says, 'Berto, that is what he did. He shot me,' " he recalled.

Gallegos said he had heard no arguments before or after the shots, and knew of no historical past of bullying or abuse inside the house.

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