Cops ‘sorry’ for hour wait as killer raged
HOUSTON: A Texas security official apologised for police who delayed storming the classroom where a teen gunman was holed up with dead and wounded children, some of whom were calling 911 for help.
Police in the small town of Uvalde have been slammed since Tuesday’s tragedy over why it took well over an hour to neutralise the gunman, who ultimately killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.
“From the benefit of hindsight … it was the wrong decision, period,” Texas Department of Public Safety director Steven McCraw said through tears at a press conference.
“From what we know, we believe there should have been an entry as soon as you can. If I thought it would help, I’d apologise.”
McCraw revealed in harrowing detail a series of emergency calls, including by a child begging for police help, that were made from the two adjoining classrooms where the gunman was barricaded.
The on-scene commander believed at the time that the 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos was in there alone, with no survivors, after his initial assault, McCraw said.
“I’m not defending anything, but you go back in the timeline, there was a barrage, hundreds of rounds were pumped in four minutes, OK, into those two classrooms,” McCraw said.
McCraw said a 911 call received at 12.16pm – one of several made from inside the classrooms – reported eight or nine children still alive. He did not identify the caller, who he said called at least four times. As many as 19 officers were outside the classroom door at that time, plus an unknown number of tactical team members who had just arrived. The door was eventually breached at 12:50pm.
McCraw said a child called 911 multiple times begging for police to come. During one of her calls, at 12:21, three shots could be heard, he said. Her final call was cut off as she made it outside.
The Uvalde shooting was the deadliest since 20 children and six staff were killed at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.