Gunman entered Texas elementary school 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 earlier than he was killed in a shootout, law enforcement authorities said Thursday amid mounting public anger and scrutiny over their response to the rampage.

A media briefing referred to as by Texas safety officials to clarify the timeline of the attack offered bits of previously unknown data.

By the time it ended, though, it had added to the troubling questions surrounding the attack in the city of Uvalde, including in regards to the time it took police to reach the scene and confront the gunman, and the obvious failure to lock a faculty door he entered.

After two days of providing often conflicting information, investigators mentioned that a college district police officer was not inside Robb Elementary when 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos arrived round 11:30 a.m. native time, and, opposite to their previous studies, the officer had not confronted Ramos outdoors the constructing.

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

Ramos crashed his truck close to the back of the varsity at 11:28 a.m., then fired an AR-style rifle at two folks coming out of a nearby funeral house, said Victor Escalon, regional director for the Texas Division of Public Security.

Ramos then entered the school "unobstructed" through an apparently unlocked door at about 11:40 a.m., Escalon stated.

However the first police officers did not arrive on the scene until 12 minutes after the crash and didn't enter the school to pursue the shooter till four minutes after that. Inside, they have been driven back by gunfire from Ramos and took cowl, Escalon stated.

The crisis got here to an end after a bunch of Border Patrol tactical officers entered the school roughly an hour later, at 12:45 p.m., mentioned Texas Department of Public Safety 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 useless.

Within the hour in between, the officers known as for backup, negotiators and tactical groups, whereas evacuating students and teachers, Escalon said.

However he largely ignored questions on why officers were not in a position to stop the shooter sooner, saying he had "taken all those questions into consideration" and would provide updates.

Ken Trump, president of the consulting agency National Faculty Security and Security Providers, stated the size of the timeline raised questions.

"Based mostly on finest practices, it's extremely obscure why there were any kinds of delays, particularly once you get into experiences of 40 minutes and up of moving into to neutralize that shooter," he mentioned.

Many other details of the case and response remained murky. The motive for the massacre — the nation's deadliest faculty capturing since Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., a decade ago — stays underneath investigation, with authorities saying the gunman had no identified legal or mental health historical past.

During the siege, pissed off onlookers urged cops to cost into the school, in response to witnesses.

"Go in there! Go in there!" women shouted on the officers soon after the attack started, said Juan Carranza, 24, who watched the scene from outside a home across the road.

Carranza stated the officers should have entered the school sooner: "There were extra of them. There was just one in every of him."

Texas Division of Public Security Director Steve McCraw defended the agency Wednesday, saying, "The underside line is legislation enforcement was there. They did interact instantly. They did include him within the classroom."

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

"What we wished to ensure is to behave quickly, act swiftly, and that is precisely what these brokers did," Ortiz advised Fox Information.

But a regulation enforcement official stated that when within the constructing, the Border Patrol agents had trouble breaching the classroom door and had to get a workers member to open the room with a key. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not approved to speak publicly concerning the investigation.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez informed CNN that investigators had been trying to determine whether the classroom was, in reality, locked or barricaded ultimately.

Javier Cazares, whose daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed within the attack, said he raced to the college when he heard concerning the taking pictures. 

When he arrived, he mentioned he saw two officers outdoors the school and about 5 others escorting college students out of the building. However 15 or 20 minutes passed before the arrival of officers with shields, equipped to confront the gunman, he stated.

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

"Quite a lot of us had been arguing with the police, 'You all have to go in there. You all must do your jobs.' Their response was, 'We can't do our jobs because you guys are interfering,"' Cazares mentioned.

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

The White House mentioned the Bidens would "grieve with the community that lost 21 lives in the horrific" taking pictures at Robb Elementary School. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mentioned the president would meet with the community, native 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 pain of losing a child, and known as on the country to tighten gun legal guidelines in response to the taking pictures.

'"When in God's title are we going to stand up to the gun foyer?" he said. "Why are we keen to reside with this carnage? Why can we preserve letting this happen?"

Earlier than attacking the school, Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother on the dwelling they shared.

Neighbour Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the road and has recognized the family for many years, said he was puttering in his yard when he heard the pictures.

Gallegos mentioned he saw a automotive racing away from the house: "He spun out, I mean quick, spraying gravel in the air."

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

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

Gallegos stated he had heard no arguments before or after the pictures, and knew of no history of bullying or abuse inside the house.

Entrance Burner20:06A Sandy Hook mother on another faculty taking pictures