Topline
The Uvalde school police chief in charge of the response to the shooting at an elementary school that left 19 students and two teachers dead did not have a police radio with him as he gave orders to wait for additional units to respond to the scene, Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez told the Associated Press on Friday.
Wooden crosses are placed at a memorial dedicated to the victims of the mass shooting at Robb … [+]
Key Facts
Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, told the Associated Press an unnamed Texas Department of Public Safety official said Uvalde United Independent School District Chief Pete Arredondo was without a radio during the incident.
Arredondo used a cell phone to call a police landline, ordering for the school to be surrounded and requesting additional ammunition because the gunman was contained, the New York Times reports, citing a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
The Times reports Arredondo’s decision to fall back and wait for tactical units came after two officers suffered graze wounds from gunfire from the shooter, Salvador Ramos, and ultimately caused officers on the scene to hold back for over an hour after Ramos entered the school.
The officers who breached the classroom that Ramos had barricaded himself in were not a formal team, but included Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and a sheriff’s deputy who were tired of waiting in the hallway for permission to go inside the classroom, according to the Times.
The group obtained keys to the classroom from a janitor, and continued working to breach the door, despite commands coming over an officer’s earpiece not to do so, the Times reports.
Texas DPS said in a statement to Forbes it is “committed to working with multiple law enforcement agencies to get the answers we all seek,” and referred questions to the 38th District Attorney’s office.
The 38th District Attorney’s office and the Department of Justice, which is also leading an investigation into the shooting response, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Crucial Quote
“I don’t want to die, my teacher is dead, my teacher is dead, please send help, send help for my teacher, she is shot but still alive,” the Times quoted a 10-year-old student as telling a 911 dispatcher, according to a transcript of the call. The student said this at 12:10 p.m., the Times reports, which is 37 minutes after Ramos entered the school, according to the most recent timeline of events provided by Texas DPS.
What We Don’t Know
Officials still have not answered why Arredondo did not classify the school as facing an active shooter situation, even as children and teachers from inside called 911 for nearly 40 minutes after police arrived—a move Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw called the “wrong decision”—though a lack of communication over the 911 calls may be a factor.
Key Background
Reports that Arredondo did not have a radio came a day after Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez said Uvalde city police did not communicate the 911 calls with Arredondo, which could be a reason why he believed other children were not at risk—despite the calls coming from inside that confirmed people were still alive in the set of conjoined classrooms Ramos had locked himself in. Uvalde Police have faced intense criticism for leaving Ramos alone inside the school for nearly 80 minutes, a decision that appears to clash with normal active-shooter tactics that encourage police to confront gunmen immediately. While law enforcement were holding back, parents pleaded with officers to go inside and rescue their children, and some parents were pinned down and detained for allegedly interfering with the police investigation.
Further Reading
DOJ Will Review Police Response To Texas School Shooting (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan/2022/06/03/uvalde-school-police-chief-reportedly-didnt-have-radio-with-him-during-shooting-response/