The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety acknowledged Friday that it was a “wrong decision” for more than a dozen officers to wait outside the classroom door after a shooter killed children earlier this week.
“With the benefit of where I’m sitting now, it certainly wasn’t the right decision, it was the wrong decision, there was no excuse for it,” DPS director Colonel Steven McCraw told reporters.
The admissions come days after 19 children and two teachers were shot dead Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
At least 19 police officers waited outside the classroom door where the suspect was shooting because a commanding officer believed it was a “barricade subject” and not an active shooter. That officer was wrong.
“I wasn’t there, but I’m going to tell you what we know,” McCraw told reporters. “When there’s an active shooter, the rules change, it’s no longer a barricaded topic, you don’t have time.”
More than 40 minutes had passed since the shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, had entered the school, when he was eventually killed. During that time, children called 911 to beg for help, as operators could hear gunshots in the background, McCraw said.
But the police stood by, as an unidentified commanding officer believed the gunman had restrained himself and wanted to wait for a tactical team instead of engaging with the gunman.
“I was not there,” McCraw reiterated at the press conference, “but a decision was made that this was a barricaded subject, and to wait for a tactical team with equipment to retrieve the keys and break down the doors. had time. “
“The thought process was there at that particular time,” McCraw said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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