Police took 77 minutes to enter the classrooms under siege in Uvalde

Report indicates that police officers took 77 minutes to enter the classrooms in Uvalde.

They also indicate that they had a tool to break the locks but didn’t use it on the classroom doors.

More details about the massacre in Texas.

Report reveals that police officers who responded to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, waited 77 minutes before trying to enter the classrooms under attack by the young man who killed 19 children and two teachers with high-caliber weapons, according the San Antonio Express News and the New York Post.

The report showed evidence that was collected through security cameras that reveals the time police arrived and the time it took them to decide to enter the classrooms where Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old, attempted to kill everyone in his path.

WHAT DOES THE REPORT SAY?

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This information is the most recent that we have about this attack and now the investigation is in the hands of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Parents have been complaining about how long it took police to take action during the massacre at Robb Elementary School.

On May 24, the young man was able to enter classroom 111, despite the fact that the door was supposed to lock automatically. Once inside, the attacker was able to enter classroom 112 through an adjoining door. It’s unclear if either door locked behind him but the report shows that police did not even attempt to open the doors.

WHAT DID THE POLICE DO?

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The report indicates that the police had a Halligan tool with which they could have broken the lock to enter the conflict zone. They point out that Pete Arredondo, chief of police for the Uvalde school district, led the operation at the time. He initially told The Texas Tribune that he waited 40 minutes for the janitor’s keys to try to open the classroom door.

Video footage showed that Arredondo was finally able to get a key ring and tried to open other doors to find a master key, but not classroom doors 111 and 112, according to Express News. After this he confirmed: “Every time I tried a key, I was just praying. The only thing that was important to me right now was saving as many teachers and children as possible.»

WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE 77 MINUTES?

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During that time, the police chief tried dozens of keys, but told the officers that they should wait for a tactical team since no key would open the door, the report states. In the end, around 12:50 pm, the police breached the door and shot and killed Salvador Ramos.

In those 77 minutes, teachers and students made 911 calls asking for help in the face of the massacre that was taking place inside the school. Texas investigators say Arredondo mishandled the shooting as he mistakenly thought the shooting was a barricaded suspect incident rather than an active shooter situation.

WHAT DOES THE CHIEF OF POLICE SAY?

Uvalde, Texas School Police Chief Pete Arredondo (third from left) during a news conference outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, on May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Darío López-Mills)

Arredondo, who has been criticized for his role in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, said in his first lengthy statement released Thursday that he did not consider himself the person in charge during the massacre and that he assumed someone else had taken control of the security forces response.

Speaking to the Texas Tribune, Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo said he intentionally left campus and police radios behind before entering Robb Elementary School. An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 students and two teachers behind a locked classroom door that the police official said was reinforced with steel and could not be kicked in. Filed Under: Police shooting Uvalde