Police in Uvalde, Texas, essentially stood down as a gunman rampaged through two classrooms killing 19 students and two teachers, footage released by KVUE and the Austin American-Statesman Tuesday shows.
The one hour and 22-minute long video compilation from May 24 shows the moments 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos crashed his vehicle outside Robb Elementary School and ran inside to take cover, wielding an AR-15 as he entered the building.
In a teacher’s 9-1-1 call, she can be heard saying, “The kids are running. Oh my God,” and “Get down, get in your rooms, get in your rooms.”
Ramos is next seen making his way down a hallway and entering a classroom where he immediately fires off about 100 rounds for about two minutes.
About two and a half minutes later, police make their way down the hallway and appear to assume tactical positions outside the classroom where gunfire is heard.
Officers are next seen fleeing down the hall in terror, scared off by the sound of gunfire, then attempting to approach the door numerous times, only to back off repeatedly.
About nine minutes later cops with ballistic shields arrive and police begin mobilizing an offensive, however, the police appear to stay down the hall in relative safety as the shooter’s gunfire can still be heard.
At this point, more than 30 minutes have passed and officers still have not attempted entry into the classroom, which Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said was unlocked the whole time.
Finally at around 12:21PM, nearly an hour after the mayhem began, a squadron of about 17 officers surrounds the classroom, yet they still didn’t open the classroom door until 12:41PM.
Stunningly, one officer stopped to apply hand sanitizer about 57 minutes into the shooting.
State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R) on Tuesday said the committee investigating the incident will meet on Sunday to address the video with members of the Uvalde community, as well as release a report on the video to the public.
During testimony before the Texas Senate last month, McCraw remarked the officers’ lack of action represented an “abject failure, and antithetical to everything we’ve learned over the last two decades since the Columbine Massacre.”
On Tuesday, McCraw said he was disappointed the families of victims did not view the footage before it was released publicly, and continued to chastise police who arrived on the scene.
“As I stated during my testimony before the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans, this video provides horrifying evidence that the law enforcement response to the attack at Robb Elementary on May 24 was an abject failure. In law enforcement, when one officer fails, we all fail,” he stated.
It remains to be seen whether any officers will face disciplinary actions over their involvement in the apparent stand-down that left numerous schoolchildren dead.
Source: Infowars.com
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