Texas School Shooting: Officials describe updated chronology of attack
The 18-year-old gunman who this week killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school entrance through a door that was open and then fired several rounds while 911 calls from students and people at the Interior police called for help, he said. local law enforcement.
Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, admitted that officers did not break down a classroom door and killed Salvador Ramos for more than an hour after the initial arrival, falsely believing that the man armed was “barricaded” and was no longer an active threat to the shooter. despite requests from schoolchildren within their classrooms.
At 12.16pm, a caller told a 911 dispatcher that he was in a classroom with eight to nine children still alive. In another call after 12:36 p.m., a student asked “please send the police now.”
The latest details from Texas officials following the mass shooting follow a contradictory chronology and uncertain police reports from the time after Ramos arrived at school, asking questions about security at Robb Eleemntary School and the police response. , while the parents begged the agents outside. the school to save their children.
Key points
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“It was a wrong decision”
When officers arrived at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, they mistakenly believed the mass shooting was over and had moved on to a “barricade-themed” scenario, opting to wait for a backup before loading. against the classroom where the armed man Salvador Ramos was locked inside. with dozens of terrified students.
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 5:52 PM
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McGraw: “We are not here to defend what happened, we are here to denounce the facts so that they have the facts.”
When asked how he killed students at a time when officers initially refused to confront the gunman and the point that a tactical team shot him dead, director McCraw said he has no answer.
“I don’t have that answer. We’re looking at it now,” he said.
Director McGraw, who admitted that police mistakenly believed the gunman was “barricaded” in a classroom, said, “What do I tell my parents? I have nothing to tell my parents other than what happened.” .
“We are not here to defend what happened, we are here to denounce the facts so that they have the facts,” he said. “If I thought I could help, I would apologize.”
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 5:37 PM
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McGraw: “There were kids in that classroom who were still at risk”
Director McCraw admitted that “obviously according to the information we have, there were children in that classroom who were still at risk” although police initially claimed that the gunman was “barricaded” by officers in a room. , instead of an active shooter.
“From the benefit of the rear view where I’m sitting now, of course, it wasn’t the right decision,” he said. “It was a wrong decision. Period.”
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 5:28 PM
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GoFundMe for Professor and husband of Uvalde who died two days later raises $ 2 million
Donations for the teacher who was killed during the massacre of Uvalde and her husband, who died just two days later, have been poured in recent days, raising more than $ 2 million for the young family. that the couple left behind.
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 5:20 p.m.
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Police: a gunman entered the school through an open door, 19 officers entered the hallway while the victims called 911
Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the gunman entered the school through a door that was open. Officers entered minutes later, and at 12:03 p.m., there were 19 officers in the school hallway.
Officers did not break down a classroom door and killed the gunman until 12:50 p.m.
At 12:16 p.m., about 45 minutes before the gunman died, a caller told a 911 dispatcher that he was in a classroom who said there were eight to nine children still alive. .
In another call after 12:36 p.m., a student asked “please send the police now.”
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 5:19 p.m.
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Texas law enforcement offers update
Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, offers a briefing on the state of the investigation. Stay tuned.
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 5:03 PM
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Growing demands for the FBI to investigate the police response to the Uvalde massacre
A letter from a congressman to the FBI and growing demands for federal intervention in the Uvalde massacre follow conflicting and often highly contradictory statements from Texas authorities, including a false statement that an officer assigned to the school shoot at the gunman before entering the school, and a failure. to fully explain the next hour.
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 5:00 p.m.
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Sandy Hook Survivor: “Schools Are Unsafe Working Conditions for Students and Educators”
Abbey Clements, who was a teacher at Sandy Hook during the 2012 massacre that killed 20 young children and six others, said she is “a witness to what is happening, what can happen, what happened and what comes next.” of horror. of school shootings in America.
“Schools are unsafe working conditions for students and educators,” he told a news conference in Houston with teachers’ unions, survivors and gun control advocates.
“Teachers come in every day crying, having to answer questions from students,” he said. “They come in and look at us, because they know it, but they don’t know what to say, and we don’t know what to say. … We need to help pave the way for them to tell their stories. “
He added that children are not only exposed to armed violence in schools, but “bring armed violence to their schools every day,” from shootings in their community to domestic violence in their homes.
“Interwoven with these stories, there is poverty, there are homeless people, there is unfair immigration that weighs on parents, there is racism, all this now with easy access to weapons,” he said. “That’s not right. We have too many weapons in our country. But there are ways to make things safer for our students and our educators and our communities.”
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 4:55 PM
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David Hogg: “I don’t want to hear that young people aren’t doing our job”
David Hogg, survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School shootings and co-founder of the youth-led gun reform organization March for Our Lives, said the push for youth-led movements to end armed violence in the decades after Columbine and The Sandy Hook Massacres have put Americans in a historic position to combat the proliferation of weapons.
“I sincerely believe that this time may be different,” he said, adding that the NRA is at its “weakest point” politically after the demands and political pressure.
In addition, we have the House, Senate, and President most supportive of gun safety in U.S. history. I think this time it could be different, “he said.
After the Parkland shootings, when he was 17, he said young people ran in national elections at a historic pace after officials told them to engage politically after years of legislative inaction.
“I don’t want to feel like young people aren’t doing our job,” he said. We need adults to do their job too … We are adults right now, and we will not let the next generation take care of that. “
He said gun owners should “stand up and agree that we need action … and let politicians know that the NRA does not represent them.”
“We need to figure out what we can agree on for the good of our children,” he said.
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 4:37 PM
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Texas Teachers Union Chair: “How often should children be role models for adults?”
Ovidia Molina, president of the Texas State Teachers Association, said pressuring lawmakers to move forward with gun reform legislation or policymakers to protect children in schools should not fall into the hands of Texas lawmakers. children in need of protection.
“It shouldn’t be their burden to get adults to take steps to save our children’s lives,” he said. “How often should children be role models for adults? … What will it take for lawmakers to stop and value their lives? … We are fed up and tired of talking about it. “
The UValde massacre is “an unimaginable loss. The children of Uvalde will carry it for the rest of their lives, “he said.
“This community will be remembered forever for this tragedy … We can’t have one more.”
Alex Woodward May 27, 2022 4:29 PM