Mere hours after a crazed teenage gunman killed 19 children and 2 teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, there were concerns over what more could have been done to protect the school…particularly by local, responding law officers.
Much of the angst came after a number of social media posts showed officers refusing to enter the school, despite the known threat and the sounds of gunshots, while also detaining concerned parents and citizen who were willing and able to take matters into their own hands.
Now, a new piece of surveillance footage from inside the school shows more inaction by police, and it’s angering Americans from coast to coast.
Portions of surveillance footage of the Robb Elementary School shooting were published by the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE on Tuesday ahead of a planned release by officials on Sunday.
The footage shows the gunman, who authorities have identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, firing multiple shots from an AR-15 style rifle outside the school, then entering the building at 11:33 a.m. and shooting his way into adjoining classrooms.
A barrage of more than 100 bullets were fired inside those two classrooms over the next two-and-a-half minutes before seven officers ran into the school at 11:36, two of them armed with rifles and four others armed with handguns.
The timeline of events was tragic.
Officers were on the scene before the gunman entered the school, as one officer had the suspect in his rifle sights and asked permission to shoot, but the supervisor either didn’t hear the request or didn’t respond in time, allowing the suspect to enter the school, according to a report released by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center.
Regardless, the gunman appeared to fire from inside the classroom at 11:37 at the officers, who retreated back down the hallway.
Ballistic shields arrived at 11:52 a.m. and 12:04 p.m., along with other officers armed with rifles, bulletproof vests, helmets and other tactical gear.
At 12:21 p.m., officers walked down the hallway to position themselves closer to the classroom doorway. At 12:30, an officer can be seen walking over to a hand sanitizer dispenser and disinfecting his hands.
The classroom door was finally breached at 12:50 p.m., 74 minutes after the first officers entered the school.
There are several investigations currently ongoing in the matter, and there is little doubt that more revelations, and more anger, will be coming over the horizon.
