The gunman who killed 19 students and 2 adults at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas walked through an apparently unlocked door, a law enforcement officer said Thursday, contradicting earlier statements that the shooter engaged with a school officer before the massacre.
The latest: “There was not an officer readily available and armed,” and the gunman entered the building "unobstructed," Victor Escalon, a regional director at the Texas Department of Public Safety, said.
- Escalon added that the alleged gunman was outside the school for 12 minutes before he entered Robb Elementary School. The shooter then barricaded himself inside for at least three-quarters of an hour before he was killed by Border Patrol agents.
- Most of the shots fired came within the first several minutes the gunman entered the school, Escalon said. All 21 victims were in the same fourth-grade classroom, law officials said.
Yes, but: Sgt. Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Public Safety had said earlier that the shooter encountered a school resource officer when he got to the school and dropped a bag with ammunition inside before entering campus, per CNN.
What they're saying: “The bottom line is law enforcement was there,” Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said Wednesday. “They did engage immediately. They did contain (Ramos) in the classroom.”
- "There could have been further loss of life if those initial officers weren't on scene to break those windows and rescue any other children and teachers inside that classroom," Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said on CNN.
But officers have also faced criticism over the amount of time...