Officers waited for back-up during Texas school shooting because ‘they could’ve been shot’: lieutenant
A Texas state police official said officers outside the Uvalde school where a gunman slaughtered 19 fourth-graders and two teachers Tuesday waited for backup to engage the shooter because they feared “they could’ve been shot.”
Texas Department of Public Safety Lieutenant Chris Olivarez said in a Thursday interview with CNN that the first few officers who entered Robb Elementary School after the 18-year-old shooter Salvador Ramos were met with gunfire and retreated to avoid being shot and killed.
“At that point, if they pursued it any further — not knowing where the suspect was at — they could’ve been shot; they could’ve been killed and, at that point, that gunman would have the opportunity to kill other people inside that school,” Olivarez told host Wolf Blitzer.
Local and state police outside Robb Elementary School waited for a specialized US Border Patrol tactical team to arrive and take out Ramos nearly an hour after he began his killing spree.
Ramos had locked the door of the classroom where he killed all 21 victims and officers weren’t able to get inside until a school staff member gave them a key, the Associated Press had reported.
Olivarez said the officers were able to contain the gunman inside the classroom so that he was unable to kill more people throughout the school building.
Dozens of parents arrived at the school while Ramos was still inside and begged officers waiting outside to charge the building.
Some parents suggested going into the school building themselves, videos from the scene show.
One mother yelled at an officer, “You’re scared of getting shot? I’ll go in without a vest — I will!”
Another mom of two did just that. After breaking away from the crowd, she jumped the school fence, entered the building and ran out with her two kids.
And they won't be so fearful.
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Human nature is never tested until real bullets are being fired at you.
But, courage comes with the job title and the oath to protect and serve.
Police officers cannot let an active shooter .... keep shooting ... inside a school.
When seconds count, the police are minutes away...and they may not even come.
people/cops waiting for?
None of this is adding up.
It's hard to understand cowardice like this, particularly from law enforcement.
Without seeming to offer up biased chest-bumping, it's notable that whenever shootings like this happen, the stories invariably emerge about teachers and administrators shielding their kids with their own bodies, trying to stop the shooter, and other acts of heroism for kids who are not their own. I hope the cowards who refused to go in think about this.
Wife about the shooter. He borrowed a shotgun from the barber (who went with him) and rescued his daughter and her classmates from the school. I’ve seen the videos of parents pleading with the officers to go inside and help and them just keeping them back. Amazing the amount of time wasted.
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Felt knowing their kids were in that school and these cops weren’t doing anything but preventing them from saving them.
Link: https://www.newsweek.com/texas-police-stopped-parents-rushing-save-children-shooter-1710325
Is it really that necessary to remind everyone to wait until all the info has been gathered? I'm hearing a different story this morning , but even then, I will wait for the official breakdown of events. None of us were there. None of us were inside the building. Lots of experts around here on active shooter protocol.
I trust the media as much as I trust the scumbag politicians on both sides. Both trying to score points off of these 19 children.
Yeah, that's what we need. A bunch of parents with zero training who are armed, running around the hallways taking pot shots at anything that moves. Just because a person is armed doesn't mean they should be. It's stories like this that really muddy the waters. Plus, the law enforcement who are in the school evacuating students and adults would have no idea who these people are. Bad guy or good guy? The fog of war is a real thing. It's chaotic. The media are looking for conflict. Let's wait for the facts.
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