LAW enforcement agencies were facing questions and criticism over how much time elapsed before they stormed a Texas primary school classroom and put a stop to the rampage by a gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers.
Investigators were also unable to say with any certainty whether an armed school district security officer outside Robb Elementary in Uvalde had exchanged fire with the attacker –18-year-old Salvador Ramos – when he first arrived on Tuesday.
The motive for the attack – the nation’s deadliest school shooting since Newtown, Connecticut, a decade ago – remained under investigation, with authorities saying Ramos had no known criminal or mental health history.
During the siege, which ended when a Border Patrol team burst in and fatally shot Ramos, frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the school, according to witnesses.
Juan Carranza, 24, who watched the scene from outside his house, across the street from the school, said women shouted “Go in there! Go in there!” at the officers soon after the attack began.
Texas Department of Public Safety director Steve McCraw said on Wednesday that 40 minutes to an hour had elapsed from when Ramos opened fire on the school security officer to when the tactical team shot him.
But a department spokesman said later that authorities could not give a solid estimate of how long the gunman had been in the school.
“The bottom line is law enforcement was there,” McCraw said. “They did engage immediately. They did contain [Ramos] in the classroom.”
