According to law enforcement officials, the gunman responsible for killing 19 children and two teachers in Texas' elementary school was there more than an hour before being killed in a shootout. This was amid growing public anger and scrutiny about their response.
Texas safety officials called a media briefing to clarify the chronology of the attack. It provided some previously undiscovered information. It was overshadowed by troubling questions about the attack on Uvalde. This included the time it took for police to arrive at the scene to confront the gunman and the failure to lock the school door he entered.
Investigators stated that no school district officer was present at Robb Elementary on Tuesday morning when Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old gunman, arrived. They also confirmed that the officer did not confront Ramos outside of the building, contrary to previous reports.
Instead, they drew up a timeline that was notable for unexplained delays in law enforcement's response to the attack.
Ramos crashed his truck at the back of the school at 11.28 am Thursday. He then fired an AR-style gun at two people who were coming out of a nearby funeral house, according to Victor Escalon.
Ramos entered the school "unobstructed" at 11:40 a.m. via an unlocked door, Escalon said.
The first officers arrived on the scene 12 minutes after the accident, but they did not enter the school to chase the shooter until 4 minutes later. Escalon stated that they were forced to retreat by the gunfire from Ramos inside and then took cover.
Travis Considine, spokesperson for Texas Department of Public Safety, stated that the crisis was over when a group of Border Patrol tactical police officers arrived at the school about an hour later, at 12 :45 p.m. The gunman was still in a fourth grade classroom when they engaged in a shootout. At 12:58 p.m., radio chatter indicated that he was dead.
Escalon stated that the officers were able to call for support, negotiators, and tactical teams during the time between evacuations of students and teachers.
