Uvalde School Shooting Officers Waited Over an Hour to Act on Shooter
As more and more details emerge from yet another school shooting tragedy, unfortunately there's a lot of finger pointing. Right now, much of the pointing is at the police officers who have appeared to mishandle the situation. Now 19 people are dead.
New reports have indicated that the officers involved at the Uvalde shooting waiting 77 minutes before acting on the shooter. This seems to conflict their report that they tried to enter the building with a janitor's keys.
Surveillance footage from inside the school showed the armed officers standing inside a hallway at 11:52 a.m. after gunman Salvador Ramos broke into the school at 11:33 a.m. through an exterior door that had failed to automatically lock.
The newly reported account contradicts earlier reports that Uvalde school district police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was in charge of the police response, was waiting for tactical gear and a protective shield to move on the gunman.
Based on footage from the incident and Arredondo’s own testimony, it’s believed some of the delay was based on his attempts to find keys to unlock the classroom door — though it was unclear if it was locked. Police did not even check or try to open it, despite having access to a Halligan tool that could have broken the lock, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
