Topline
Several Uvalde police officers—including the school district police chief—became aware there were injured people inside Robb Elementary School requiring medical attention while they waited to breach classrooms where a shooter was holed up, according to the New York Times, in the latest damning revelation involving the police response to last month’s massacre.
Texas Highway Patrol Troopers stand at attention in front of a memorial for the victims of the mass … [+]
Key Facts
It’s not clear when Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Chief Pete Arredondo learned of injuries, but a man believed to be him said “we think there are some injuries in there” several minutes before authorities took out the shooter, according to a transcript of police body camera footage obtained by the Times.
At least some police on the scene knew of injuries by 11:48 a.m.—13 minutes after the shooter entered the school—when officer Ruben Ruiz told other officers his wife, a teacher at the school who later died, called to say she had been shot.
The shooter could be heard on a 911 call firing inside the classrooms he was in as late as 12:21 p.m., before a team of Border Patrol agents killed him at 12:50 p.m.
According to documents reviewed by the Times, Arredondo held off on ordering officers to breach the shooter’s location, in part, because he was concerned about officers’ safety upon learning the shooter had a “hellfire” device that allowed his semi-automatic AR-15 rifle to operate more like an automatic weapon.
The “hellfire” device was found inside one of the two classrooms the shooter went on his rampage in, but it does not appear it was used.
Arredondo gave the go-ahead for the heavily armed and shielded Border Patrol team to enter the classrooms at 12:46 p.m., but it’s not clear if the agents who killed the shooter were even aware of Arredondo’s order, according to the Times, amid rampant miscommunication and confusion among police.
Crucial Quote
“People are going to ask why we’re taking so long,” a man believed to be Arredondo said outside the school, according to a transcript of body camera footage reviewed by the Times.
Surprising Fact
Arredondo reportedly learned of the shooter’s name at some point, and unsuccessfully attempted to communicate with him through closed classroom doors.
Key Background
The police response to the May 24 Uvalde shooting—during which 19 elementary school students and two teachers died—has been widely condemned and is being reviewed by the Justice Department. Police also gave numerous conflicting accounts of their response, initially shaping a narrative of a swift and heroic response that figures like Gov. Greg Abbott (R) trumpeted. It was later revealed a student inside one of the classrooms started placing 911 calls more than 40 minutes before the shooter was killed, begging police to intervene.
Further Reading
Aware of Injuries Inside, Uvalde Police Waited to Confront Gunman (New York Times)
DOJ Will Review Police Response To Texas School Shooting (Forbes)
Uvalde Shooting: Here’s Everything That Turned Out To Not Be True (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/06/09/uvalde-officers-knew-of-injuries-inside-school-as-they-waited-to-confront-gunman-report-says/