Scrutiny is mounting about how quickly police responded to reports that an active shooter entered a Uvalde elementary school Tuesday, an incident that unfolded as the worst school shooting in Texas history.
Video purportedly captured from outside the school as the shooting took place and shared on Twitter appears to show panicked and angry onlookers begging police to enter. What’s more, the Associated Press spoke to parents who said officers ignored their pleas to charge the school and take down the 18-year-old gunman.
During the rampage, which played out over more than 40 minutes, according to media reports, the shooter used an assault rifle to slay 19 children and two teachers. It took authorities an hour to kill the gunman once he was inside, Texas Department of Public Safety Victor Escalon told the Texas Tribune.
Javier Cazares, whose daughter Jacklyn died in the bloodshed, told the Associated Press he went to Robb Elementary School after learning about the shooting and found police gathered on the campus. He and others urged the officers to go inside and stop the unfolding massacre.
“Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” Cazares told the AP. “More could have been done.”
He added: “They were unprepared.”
The Twitter video appears to show parents around the exterior of the school as weapon fire erupts from inside. An officer screams for the gathered people to leave as they ask why he and other law enforcement officers won’t protect the children.
“Y’all keep fighting with us!” one man shouts in the clip. “Go fight that motherfucker!”
Reviews of emergency responses following major catastrophes are routine. However, an Austin-American Statesman report picked up by USA Today said scrutiny has “intensified” because of conflicting accounts about what officers did and when. The paper, which cites sources close to the current investigation, said the Texas Rangers are looking into the response by the Uvalde Police Department.
In a press release issued Thursday, Uvalde Police Department Chief of Police Daniel Rodriguez said he wants the community to know that his officers “responded within minutes” alongside school district officers.
According to the Statesman, some of the added scrutiny placed on the response stems from reports that a Uvalde school district officer discharged his weapon at the alleged perpetrator as he breached the campus.
Initially, Department of Public Safety officials said the officer exchanged fire with the gunman. However, the Statesman reports that as of late Wednesday, DPS officials said they could “no longer be confident that he discharged his weapon.”
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This article appears in May 18-31, 2022.
