A review of footage and recordings of radio traffic and phone calls from the Tribune – which says details were confirmed by a senior state DPS official – prompted the gunman to shoot inside class 111, stepping outside. from the door, then re-entered and opened fire. Shortly after the shooting, 11 police officers arrived at the scene, according to the Tribune report, and confirmed to law enforcement on CNN. Arredondo telephoned the Uvalde Police Department mission shortly after the gunman fired at police, according to the source, asking for further assistance and saying he did not have the radio. The Tribune notes that “by the time Arredondo called for a mission, at least 11 officers had entered the school and at least two were seen in the video carrying rifles. But Arredondo told the sender that he did not have the firepower to confront the lone gunman.” A security shot taken by the American statesman in Austin shows at least three officers in the hallway – two of whom have rifles and one officer appears to have a tactical shield – at 11:52 a.m., 19 minutes after entry of the armed school. “If there are children in there, we have to go there,” one official said, according to the American-Statesman. Another officer replied: “Whoever is in charge will determine it.” At least one of the officers is noted at 11:50 a.m. he believes Arredondo was in charge of the law enforcement response within the school, telling others, “The principal is responsible,” according to the Tribune. Arredondo had previously told the Tribune that he did not consider himself the commander of the incident that day. Officers had access to four ballistic shields inside the school, the Tribune said, citing a law enforcement report, the fourth of which arrived 30 minutes before police raided the classrooms. In the first minutes of their response, an officer also said that a Halligan, a firefighting tool used for forced entry, was at the scene, according to the Tribune. However, the tool was not introduced to the school until just one hour after the officers arrived and was never used, the Tribune said. Towards the end of the confrontation, according to the law enforcement source, Arredondo wondered aloud if the police would consider “popping him out of the window”. A body camera recording showed Arredondo pointing at other officers at 12:46 p.m. that if a SWAT response team was ready, they would have to break down the door, an action that took place four minutes later. CNN contacted both Arredondo’s lawyer, George Hyde, and the Uvalde Police Department about the reports. A Texas House committee investigating the attack on the school is meeting again in Austin on Tuesday, with witnesses including Col. Steven McCrew, the head of the Texas DPS. McCraw is going to describe data taken from in-school surveillance videos and will also bring a physical door by Robb Elementary to demonstrate the locking mechanism, according to a law enforcement source close to the investigation. CNN’s Rosalina Nieves and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
