New details are emerging surrounding the police response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed.
Authorities now admit mistakes were made in the response and say officers should have entered the classroom where the shooter was located sooner. Steven McCraw, Director for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the on-scene commander determined the situation had evolved into a barricaded person rather than an active shooter. But McCraw admits that was not the right decision and says active shooter training requires officers to engage immediately.
At a press conference earlier today, McCraw said: “With the benefit of hindsight, where I’m sitting now, then, of course, it was not the right decision. It was a wrong decision, period. There was no excuse for that. But again, I wasn’t there, but I’m just telling you from what we know, we believe there should have been an entry at that as soon as you can.”
McCraw also said there is digital evidence the suspect had been looking for a gun but couldn’t get his hands on one. He quoted ominous social media postings by the shooter and group chats where people were aware the shooter was looking for a gun.
The community, local leaders, and activists continue to demand more answers on the response but a full timeline of events has not yet been released.
