The new details were included in reports by the Austin American Statesman and KVUE on Monday and mark the latest revelations about the failed police response to the May 24 mass attack in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 students and two teachers dead. Surveillance footage from inside the school showed the armed officers standing in a corridor at 11:52 a.m. when gunman Salvador Ramos stormed the school at 11:33 a.m. from an external door that could not lock automatically. Defendant shooter Salvador Ramos outside Rob Elementary School before the deadly massacre. Elsa G Ruiz / Facebook officers waited an hour to break into the perpetrator’s classroom. AP The recent report contradicts previous reports that Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was in charge of the police response, was expecting regular equipment and a protective shield to move over the gunman. “There were 19 police officers in there,” Col. Steven McCrow, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told the media a few days after the shooting. “In fact, there were a lot of officers to do what needed to be done, with one exception – the incident commander inside believed they needed more equipment and more officers to do a regular offense at that point.” School security plans as well as video of the police body camera show that officers had enough firepower and protection to remove the gunman much earlier than they did, according to Stateman. The shootings killed 19 students and two teachers. Getty Images The first officer with a ballistic shield to enter the school wonders why they were not trying to enter the classroom. “If there are children in there, we have to go there,” the officer said on camera. At 12:03 p.m., an officer with another shield arrives, followed by a third two minutes later, according to KVUE. After trying to talk to Ramos, Arredondo tells SWAT officers who arrived that they had to break down the classroom door as soon as they were ready at 12:46 p.m. They reported that they finally broke into the room four minutes later and shot and killed Ramos. Based on footage from the incident and the testimony of Arredondo himself, it is believed that part of the delay was based on his efforts to find keys to unlock the classroom door – he thought it was unclear if it was locked. Police did not check or try to open it, despite having access to a Halligan tool that could have broken the lock, according to the San Antonio Express News. Arredondo tried dozens of keys but told officers to wait for a tactical team when none worked, the report said. The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the officers’ reaction to the mass attack.
