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FILE - People visit a memorial to honor the victims of the June 2, 2022 shooting at Rob Elementary School in Uwald, Texas. The legislative committee investigating the fatal shooting at a Texas elementary school will hear more testimony from law enforcement officials Monday, June 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) (AP)
Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:15 AM 5 min read
Uwald, Texas (AP) — Police officers armed with rifles and at least one bulletproof shield stood in a school hallway for nearly an hour while a gunman massacred 19 elementary school students, according to news reports Monday. and two teachers. The report marks the latest embarrassing revelation about law enforcement's failure to stop attacks.
Within 19 minutes of the gunman's arrival on campus, officers with greater firepower and tactical equipment were there -- earlier than previously known, according to documents reviewed by The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV.
Media reports did not identify the source of the documents, fueling concerns and questions about why police did not act sooner to stop the May 24 massacre in a classroom at Rob Elementary School.
The information will be released on Tuesday at a Texas Senate public hearing in Austin. Investigators said the latest information suggested police had sufficient firepower and protection to shoot down the gunman, according to media reports.
The timeline reported by US-Statesman and KVUE from the documents includes footage from inside the school showing the 18-year-old gunman entering the back door at random at 11:33 a.m., walking to the classroom and setting up a barricade by shooting himself immediately before school. . The video showed 11 police officers entering the school three minutes later, according to media reports.
Regional Police Chief Pete Arredondo reportedly called the Uvald Police Department's landline and reported that their suspect "shot a lot" with an AR-15-style rifle and overtook school officers , he said the officer only had a pistol.
Four minutes later, at 11:44 a.m., body cameras recorded more gunfire. At 11:52 a.m., the first bulletproof shield arrived, and the police couldn't wait to get into action. According to media reports, Arredondo struggled to find the keys to the classroom door, but no one is believed to have attempted to open the door.
At 12:03 p.m., another police officer with a bulletproof shield arrived, and two minutes later, another officer with a shield arrived. About 12:50 p.m., 30 minutes after police finally broke through the classroom door, Arredondo was heard loudly wondering if the gunman could have fired from the window. Just at 12:46pm. After media reports, did Arredondo tell members of the tactical team to prepare to score.
Over the past week, the San Antonio Express-News reported that video surveillance footage from the school did not show police trying to open the door to the classroom where the massacre took place. According to the New York Times, two Uwald police officers told a sheriff that they passed up a brief opportunity to shoot the gunman outside the school because they were afraid of hitting the child.
Delays in law enforcement responses have been the focus of federal, state and local investigations into the massacre and its aftermath. Questions about the law enforcement response began days after the massacre. Col. Steve McGraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said on May 27 that Arredondo chose to stay in the classroom even as fourth-graders who were trapped in two classrooms were desperately stuck in the classroom. inside. Made the "wrong decision" to call 911 for help while breaking in for more than 70 minutes.
Arredondo later said he did not consider himself responsible and believed that others controlled the law enforcement response. Arredondo has repeatedly declined AP requests for comment.
State police initially said the gunman entered through an outer door propped open by a teacher. However, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety said on May 31 that after realizing the gunman was on the campus, the teacher closed the door, but not as it should.
On June 2, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Arredondo was not receiving distress calls from people on campus, a "system glitch" because he did not have a two-way communication with city police. radio contact. .
On Monday, the Uwald School Board heard from the public, including relatives of those killed in the attack. They took turns criticizing the police response and what they said were lax security measures across the school.
Lyliana Garcia, 16, daughter of teacher Irma Garcia, killed in shooting
Tue Jun 21, 2022 12:15 AM 5 min read
Uwald, Texas (AP) — Police officers armed with rifles and at least one bulletproof shield stood in a school hallway for nearly an hour while a gunman massacred 19 elementary school students, according to news reports Monday. and two teachers. The report marks the latest embarrassing revelation about law enforcement's failure to stop attacks.
Within 19 minutes of the gunman's arrival on campus, officers with greater firepower and tactical equipment were there -- earlier than previously known, according to documents reviewed by The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE-TV.
Media reports did not identify the source of the documents, fueling concerns and questions about why police did not act sooner to stop the May 24 massacre in a classroom at Rob Elementary School.
The information will be released on Tuesday at a Texas Senate public hearing in Austin. Investigators said the latest information suggested police had sufficient firepower and protection to shoot down the gunman, according to media reports.
The timeline reported by US-Statesman and KVUE from the documents includes footage from inside the school showing the 18-year-old gunman entering the back door at random at 11:33 a.m., walking to the classroom and setting up a barricade by shooting himself immediately before school. . The video showed 11 police officers entering the school three minutes later, according to media reports.
Regional Police Chief Pete Arredondo reportedly called the Uvald Police Department's landline and reported that their suspect "shot a lot" with an AR-15-style rifle and overtook school officers , he said the officer only had a pistol.
Four minutes later, at 11:44 a.m., body cameras recorded more gunfire. At 11:52 a.m., the first bulletproof shield arrived, and the police couldn't wait to get into action. According to media reports, Arredondo struggled to find the keys to the classroom door, but no one is believed to have attempted to open the door.
At 12:03 p.m., another police officer with a bulletproof shield arrived, and two minutes later, another officer with a shield arrived. About 12:50 p.m., 30 minutes after police finally broke through the classroom door, Arredondo was heard loudly wondering if the gunman could have fired from the window. Just at 12:46pm. After media reports, did Arredondo tell members of the tactical team to prepare to score.
Over the past week, the San Antonio Express-News reported that video surveillance footage from the school did not show police trying to open the door to the classroom where the massacre took place. According to the New York Times, two Uwald police officers told a sheriff that they passed up a brief opportunity to shoot the gunman outside the school because they were afraid of hitting the child.
Delays in law enforcement responses have been the focus of federal, state and local investigations into the massacre and its aftermath. Questions about the law enforcement response began days after the massacre. Col. Steve McGraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said on May 27 that Arredondo chose to stay in the classroom even as fourth-graders who were trapped in two classrooms were desperately stuck in the classroom. inside. Made the "wrong decision" to call 911 for help while breaking in for more than 70 minutes.
Arredondo later said he did not consider himself responsible and believed that others controlled the law enforcement response. Arredondo has repeatedly declined AP requests for comment.
State police initially said the gunman entered through an outer door propped open by a teacher. However, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety said on May 31 that after realizing the gunman was on the campus, the teacher closed the door, but not as it should.
On June 2, state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Arredondo was not receiving distress calls from people on campus, a "system glitch" because he did not have a two-way communication with city police. radio contact. .
On Monday, the Uwald School Board heard from the public, including relatives of those killed in the attack. They took turns criticizing the police response and what they said were lax security measures across the school.
Lyliana Garcia, 16, daughter of teacher Irma Garcia, killed in shooting
