Texas official: Police made ‘wrong decision’ to wait on breaching Uvalde classroom
The on-scene commander believed at the time that the gunman had barricaded himself and that the children were no longer at risk.
A Texas official said Friday that local police made the “wrong decision” by waiting nearly an hour to breach the elementary school classroom where a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers.
Nearly 20 officers stood outside the classroom during the Tuesday attack at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The on-scene commander believed at the time that 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos had barricaded himself and that the children were no longer at risk, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said at a Friday news conference.
Meanwhile, during the 48 minutes it took for agents to confront the gunman, teachers and children in the classroom were still alive and repeatedly calling 911 begging for help.
“From the benefit of hindsight, where I’m sitting now, of course it was not the right decision,” McCraw said of the commander’s decision to wait for tactical teams to arrive to breach the door. “It was the wrong decision, period.”
Despite sporadic gunshots during the 48-minute period, McCraw said the onsite commander thought the attack had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject situation, which is why police waited for tactical teams to arrive to confront Ramos. U.S. Border Patrol agents eventually used a master key to enter the classroom and shot and killed the shooter.
“He was convinced at that time that there was no more threat to the children and that the subject was barricaded and that they had time to organize with the proper equipment to go in,” McCraw said.
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The on-scene commander believed at the time that the gunman had barricaded himself and the kids were no longer at risk, Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw said.
Meanwhile, teachers and children in the classroom were repeatedly calling 911 begging for help.https://t.co/981VRhv6MU
— POLITICO (@politico) May 27, 2022
A Texas official said local police made the wrong decision to wait nearly an hour to breach the Uvalde classroom where a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers.
“Where I’m sitting now, of course it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision, period.” pic.twitter.com/C69bcdQVQK
— POLITICO (@politico) May 27, 2022
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