Texas state troopers outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.Photo: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty
New information is coming to light about the tragic shooting atRobb Elementary Schoolin Uvalde, Texas six weeks ago.
On Wednesday, the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program at Texas State University released a new timeline for the May 24 tragedy, thereportrevealing a major delay in police response that could have saved lives.
The assessment was created using video surveillance from the school, a cell phone video, verbal testimony from the investigating officer, and Google Maps, per the report, which noted that the investigation is ongoing. ALERRT added that it drew the data from the most current information available as of June 30.
According to the report, before the gunman entered and opened fire inside the school building, a Uvalde Police Department officer saw him carrying a rifle outside of the west hall entry and asked his supervisor for permission to shoot. His supervisor either did not hear or responded too late to the officer’s request.
“The officer turned to get confirmation from his supervisor and when he turned back to address the suspect, he had entered the west hallway unabated,” the report read.
In that moment, the suspect entered the building and proceeded totake the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
This was not the only missed opportunity to engage the gunman before he entered the building. The report said one of the first responding officers – an Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police officer – drove through the school’s parking lot “at a high rate of speed” and didn’t see the gunman, who was still in the parking lot.
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The report then stated that if the “officer had driven more slowly or had parked his car at the edge of the school property and approached on foot,” then he would have found the suspect, and apprehended him before it was too late.
Though a teacher had closed a propped-open door before the shooter entered, the teacher didn’t ensure the door was locked, which is how the attacker gained access to the building so simply.
The door consisted of a steel frame with a large glass inlay. Given that the glass was not ballistic, ALERRT said that “the suspect would have been able to gain access to the building even if the door was locked” if they were to shoot the glass.
In addition to the issues before the gunman entered the building, other “key issues” were detected regarding the response inside the building as well. From the report, the shooter was able to gain access to room 111 even though the school was in lockdown when he entered.
“We received information from the investigating officer that the lock on room 111 had been reported as damaged multiple times; however, this has not been confirmed through work orders at this time,” ALERRT wrote. Therefore, given that the suspect did not engage with any locking mechanism, but also gained access, it was concluded that “the lock to room 111 was never engaged.”
Another mistake was that the officers entered the building at both ends of the south hallway of the school “resulting in a high likelihood of officers at either end of the hallway shooting officers at the other end” if the suspect had emerged from the classroom again, according to the report.
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The report also concluded that after the gunman entered the building, the officers did not properly engage the shooter and lost momentum,The Texas Tribunereports.
“Ideally, the officers would have placed accurate return fire on the attacker when the attacker began shooting at them,” the report read. “Maintaining position or even pushing forward to a better spot to deliver accurate return fire would have undoubtedly been dangerous, and there would have been a high probability that some of the officers would have been shot or even killed. However, the officers also would likely have been able to stop the attacker and then focus on getting immediate medical care to the wounded.”
A memorial for the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting.CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
Instead, it took more than an hour “to regain momentum” and get to the victims, the report said.
“While we do not have definitive information at this point, it is possible that some of the people who died during this event could have been saved if they had received more rapid medical care,” it continued.
The report also notes a “continuous conversation” of approximately 13 minutes that took place in the south hallway in the middle of the action. The conversation, which involvedUCISD PD Chief Arredondoand a UPD officer, discussed tactical options and considerations including snipers, windows, and how to get into the classroom. “They also discussed who has the keys, testing keys, the probability of the door being locked, and if kids and teachers are dying or dead,” the report said.
Arredondo previously told theTribunelast month that he did not consider himself to be the commanding officer on the scene that day. He has since been placed onadministrative leavefrom his position andresigned from the city council.
Another section of the report is set to be released at a future date and will address the “incident command issues” at the scene of the crime.
source: people.com
