Local and state law enforcement officials in Texas are facing ferocious criticism for why it took so long for officers to confront and stop the Uvalde shooter inside a fourth grade classroom.
The big picture: The shooter was inside the school for nearly 80 minutes before law enforcement stopped his attack, which killed 19 kids and two teachers.
The timeline, pieced together by AP.
- 11:28 am: The shooter crashes a pickup truck into a ditch behind the school. He is carrying a semi-automatic rifle.
- 11:40 am: The shooter is in the hallways of Robb Elementary School, and soon enters the classroom where he will kill 19 students and two teachers.
- 11:44 am: Law enforcement offices enter the school but are driven back.
- 12:45 pm: Border Patrol officers enter the school and engage the shooter.
- 12:58 pm: Law enforcement radio chatter says the shooter is dead.
What they're saying: Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) called on FBI director Christopher Wray to investigate and put together a timeline of the events in Uvalde after state authorities "provided the public with conflicting accounts that are at odds with those provided by witnesses."
- "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.
- "Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen?" President Biden said following the shooting. "Where in god's name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with, to stand up to, the lobbyists? It's time to turn this pain into action."
The bottom line: After two days of providing often conflicting information, investigators said that a school district police officer was not inside the school when Ramos arrived, and, contrary to their previous reports, the officer had not confronted Ramos outside the building.
Go deeper:
