Texas police on Friday admitted they were wrong to wait nearly an hour for backup before storming a classroom where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers, a security official said after questioning. on the actions of agents.
Survivors, including children, called the police emergency number shortly after Salvador Ramos, 18, entered Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, as officers waited in the hallway next to outside the classroom the arrival of help, said Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
McCraw told reporters at a press conference that it was a “wrong decision” by the command who was on site, which preferred to wait for the support of a tactical team before entering the classroom.
On Tuesday (24), the day the massacre took place, an unidentified person called the police several times starting at 12:03 pm local time, saying there were several deaths and “eight or nine” students still alive. Another student called at 12:47 and asked for the police urgently.
The agents didn’t enter the classroom until 12:50 pm, according to McCraw, when a US Border Patrol tactical team used a monitor’s keys to open the door and kill Ramos.
Witnesses heard days after the attack complained of what they consider a delay by the police to neutralize the shooter. Ramos reportedly stayed inside the school for at least 40 minutes before being killed.
“There were at least 40 agents armed to the teeth, but they didn’t do anything until it was too late,” said Jacinto Cazares. He ran to the school when he learned of the attack and found his daughter Jacklyn dead.
“The situation could have ended quickly if [os policiais] had better tactical training. We, as a community, were first-hand witnesses,” he told ABC News.
Relatives say they pleaded with the agents, without success, to enter the school and stop the massacre. Daniel Myers and his wife, Matilda, both local pastors, told AFP that they saw how desperate the parents were as the police waited for reinforcements before entering the building.
Raul Ortiz, head of the US Border Patrol, denies that officers hesitated. “They came up with a plan. They went into that room and took care of the situation as quickly as they could,” he told CNN.
Authorities say the shooter, who was wearing bulletproof protection, initially exchanged fire with one of the agents, but managed to escape. Afterwards, he entered a classroom and set up a barricade. Guards evacuated as many students as possible, including breaking school windows.
