Daniel, 9, along with his mother, Briana Ruiz, told CNN that the gunman fired several shots into his classroom at Robb Elementary after he was unable to enter. The door had been locked by his teacher, and bullets fired at the teacher as well as a classmate.
Daniel began to “hide under a table by the wall” and said he could see the gunman through the door window.
“I could still see his face,” he said. “I could see him looking at people in front of me.”
Daniel later walked out of a broken window to escape, cutting his hand with a glass, he said, and the two injured people in his class would survive. However, his cousin, Ellie Garcia, was in a different classroom and was one of 19 children and two teachers killed in the shooting. The Texas Department of Homeland Security has set a timeline for Tuesday’s shooting, showing the gunman was in a classroom. with students for more than an hour before being killed by a Border Patrol tactical response team. However, questions remain as to whether the response of law enforcement was timely enough to prevent further casualties. At the request of the mayor of Uvalde, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the shooting.
“The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to events. of active shooters, “the DOJ said in a statement on Sunday. .
Alfred Garcia, whose daughter was killed in the shooting, told CNN he was “incredulous” about the time he spent during the shooting before it ended and shared his frustration with the authorities’ response.
“It doesn’t take a genius to find out that it took too long to get in and, you know, if they had gotten there earlier, and someone had taken immediate action, today we could have more of these kids here. Including my daughter,” he said. to say.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Uvalde on Sunday to pay their respects, attend Mass and lay flowers at a memorial for the victims. The two also met privately with relatives of the victims and first responders.
Funeral services for the victims will begin on Monday and the UValde funeral homes have pledged to cover the costs of the families.
The response of law enforcement questioned
The actions taken by the first responders – or lack thereof – during the shooting have been a focal point of those who say it should have been done sooner.
Texas law enforcement officers are trained to intervene quickly, according to the guidelines for active shooters in CNN’s 2020 law enforcement training manual obtained by CNN, which states that “the first priority of an officer is to move and confront the attacker. “
“As leaders, we must recognize that innocent life must be defended,” he said. “A first who is unwilling to put the lives of innocent people above their own safety should consider another professional field.”
Seven officers arrived at the scene two minutes after the shooter fired into the classroom. Three officers approached the locked classroom where the gunman was standing and two officers were shot and wounded by bullets fired from behind the door, DPS said. Officers then parked in the hallway.
Border Patrol agents belonging to a specialized unit arrived at the scene around 12:15, about 45 minutes after the gunman started firing. The officer in charge had already made the determination that the subject was barricaded in the room, according to a source familiar with the situation.
At that time, the team did not enter the classroom for at least another 30 minutes, according to the schedule provided by DPS. Because the Border Patrol often plays a supporting role, it will refer the agency to command, according to the source.
A 911 call at 12:16 p.m., according to DPS, from a girl in one of the classrooms where the students were shot told the operator that eight or nine students were still alive.
When asked Friday why officers did not move earlier, Texas Department of Homeland Security director Steven McCraw said “at the time it was believed that the issue was immobile and barricaded,” he added. who believed that “there was no risk to the other children.”
“In retrospect, from where I’m sitting right now, it’s clear there were kids in the room, of course they’re at risk,” McCraw said. “There may be children who are injured, who have been shot but injured and it is important to save lives to get there immediately and give help.”
The community unites
As a result of the shooting, great support is being given to the community.
Carlos Hernandez, whose restaurant is a mile from Robb Elementary, wrote on Facebook hours after the shooting: “There’s no possible way to open my kitchen with a broken heart and have fun doing it.”
On Thursday, her 33rd birthday, Hernandez decided to cook for the community, preparing favorite dishes such as wings, mac and cheese and fried fish tacos.
In two hours, Hernandez had donated more than 60 family-sized dishes to feed bereaved families and neighbors who are still learning to cope with the tragedy inflicted on their close-knit community.
“It’s a really difficult situation, I’m just trying to show the kids that they have us as their backbone and a support system,” Hernandez told CNN. “We always provide, whether there is an incident or no incident.”
Elsewhere in Uvalde, the El Progreso Memorial Library has become a place of healing.
On Wednesday, just a day after the shooting, children’s librarian Martha Carreon sat in front of rows of faces, reading, singing and laughing with the children, taking them to a safe place away from the school where many of them were witnesses. to horror.
“We want our building to be a safe place, a safe haven, a safe, quiet, cool place to live,” El Progreso Memorial Library Director Mendell Morgan told CNN.
Along with the psychologists who will be available every working day to talk to children and adults, there will also be massage therapy professionals, volunteers for arts and crafts activities, pianists playing relaxing music, and even magicians for magic shows. professionals.
“This is a strong community where we have real care and concern for each other,” Morgan said. “Many, if not most, here cling to their faith by believing in God, that good is stronger than evil, and light is stronger than darkness.”
CNN’s Alaa Elassar, Ed Lavandera, Amanda Watts, Hannah Sarisohn, Virginia Langmaid, Paula Reid, Priscilla Alvarez, Christina Maxouris, Holly Yan, and Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.