Schoolgirl shot shouting for police help
Officers’ advice to yell out was fatal for pupil during Texas school massacre, says 10-year-old survivor
‘The cop said “Yell if you need help” and one in my class said “help”. The guy overheard and he shot her’
A SCHOOLGIRL at Robb Elementary in Texas was alleged to have been killed by gunman Salvador Ramos after police told any children hiding to call out for help, alerting him to her location.
A survivor of Tuesday’s primary school massacre claimed that officers attending the scene told pupils to shout out, before they had incapacitated the 18-year-old shooter.
The boy, whose parents did not want his name revealed, said he and four others hid under a table that had a tablecloth over it, which he believed shielded them from the shooter’s view.
“When the cops came, the cop said, ‘Yell if you need help!’ And one of the persons in my class said ‘help’. The guy overheard and he came in and shot her,” the boy told the Kens5 news station.
“The cop barged into that classroom. The guy shot at the cop. And the cops started shooting. I was hiding,” he said. “And I was telling my friend to not talk because he is going to hear us.”
The 10-year-old girl was one of 19 pupils and two teachers killed.
The family of slain teacher Irma Garcia said yesterday that her husband Joe Garcia had died following a heart attack, leaving behind four children.
Mrs Garcia is said to have heroically tried to protect her pupils before she was shot dead.
Ramos was carrying twice as much ammunition as a soldier takes into battle, a police source told CBS News.
He was armed with seven loaded magazines, making a total of 210 rounds. He had a further 450 rounds in a rucksack.
Details of the shooting emerged amid growing anger in Uvalde over the delayed police response to the attack.
A video recorded outside Robb Elementary revealed new details of the events, including that Texas police officers restrained – and handcuffed – parents as they tried to rescue their children from the gunman.
Javier Cazares, whose fourth-grade daughter Jacklyn Cazares was killed, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting, arriving while police were still gathered outside.
Upset that police were not moving in after more than an hour, he raised the idea of charging into the school with several other bystanders.
“There were five or six of us [parents], hearing the gunshots, and [officers] were telling us to move back,” Mr Cazares told the Washington Post. “We wanted to storm the building. We were saying, ‘Let’s go’ because … we wanted to get our babies out.” Two officers can be seen kneeling on a person as others yell, “There’s shooting!” and “What the f--- are you doing?”
Guidelines developed in the aftermath of the 1999 Columbine massacre instruct officers to immediately target the gunman.
Ramos was able to walk “unobstructed” into the building, it has emerged.
Victor Escalon, the regional director for the department of public safety in south Texas, said Ramos entered through an unlocked door.
Earlier reports had suggested that he had fired at a school resources officer. A detailed timeline raised fresh questions about the police response.
The first officers entered the school at 11.44am, four minutes after Ramos got into the building and 12 minutes after he crashed his truck and started walking toward the entrance.
Police officers retreated after coming under fire from Ramos. It took an hour for a Swat team to arrive.
Texas authorities confirmed they are now examining the response amid conflicting law enforcement accounts and witness statements, which would include a review of radio traffic.
The Duchess of Sussex yesterday paid a visit to a makeshift memorial in Uvalde, placing a bouquet of white roses on the cross for victim Uziyah Garcia, 10.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden renewed debate around the Second Amendment yesterday after the US president reiterated the need for “common-sense” gun reform measures and urged Congress to stand up to the gun lobby.
Conservatives and gun rights activists noted the Second Amendment includes the words “shall not be infringed”. Rick Scott, a Florida senator, said: “I’m not interested in taking away rights from law-abiding citizens.”