Texas state police launched an examination of law enforcement's response to the Uvalde school massacre as officials acknowledged Thursday that the heavily armed gunman was never confronted by officers before entering Robb Elementary School on Tuesday where he killed 19 children and two teachers in one of the deadliest campus attacks in U.S. history.
Authorities walked back initial reports that an armed school resource officer had engaged the 18-year-old gunman, who made his way into the school unchallenged through an unlocked door at 11:40 a.m. before barricading himself in a fourth grade classroom that became a killing field.
Victor Escalon, a Texas Department of Public Safety regional director, said an hour elapsed from the time the assailant entered until a tactical team was assembled to breach the classroom where the gunman was killed by specially trained customs and Border Patrol agents.
Under long-standing practice, responding officers are urged to confront active shooters immediately to prevent loss of life.
During the chaotic period, Escalon said, officers helped evacuate students and teachers from other parts of the school, while calls went out for more personnel and firepower.
Asked whether officers should have stormed the classroom earlier, Escalon said, "That's a tough question," and authorities were still gathering information regarding the response.
Escalon said Texas Rangers head the investigation to determine, in part, how the gunman entered the building so easily.
Once inside the classroom, which was unlocked, the attacker announced, "It's time to die."
Neighbors and parents screamed and pleaded with officers to go into the school and save the children.
Sources close to the investigation, not authorized to speak on the record, said the review of law enforcement actions is routine after a major incident, but it has intensified in this case because of differing accounts from neighbors and witnesses about what police did and when. Authorities await final collection of evidence at the scene and analysis of ballistics.
Live shooting updates:Frustrated onlookers, parents urged police to charge into Texas school
The Texas Rangers, the state’s premier law enforcement agency, are also looking at the Uvalde Police Department response.
Calls to Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez were not immediately returned Thursday.
According to the Uvalde County Independent School District Officers protocol, "secondary campuses have staff who patrol door entrances, parking lots and perimeters of the campuses." Robb Elementary is fenced to limit or restrict access to classrooms, where teachers are instructed to keep doors locked at all times.
According to Escalon, the gunman scaled the school's perimeter fence after driving his grandmother's truck into a culvert around 11:28 a.m. The attacker took the truck after shooting his grandmother in the face.
Outside the school, Escalon said, the shooter turned his weapon on two "witnesses" at a nearby funeral home, then fired, apparently indiscriminately, at the school building before entering the unlocked side door.
The DPS official said the gunman walked through a hallway about 40 feet, turning twice, before arriving at the classroom.
Authorities focused on an early timeline of law enforcement's convergence on Robb Elementary School, as community members pleaded for officers to storm the building.
“Go in there! Go in there!” women shouted at officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene from outside his house. The officers did not immediately enter the building, Carranza said.
Javier Cazares, whose fourth grade daughter, Jacklyn, was killed in the attack, said he arrived while police were gathered outside the building. Upset that they weren't moving in, he suggested to several other bystanders that they charge into the school.
Live shooting updates:Frustrated onlookers, parents urged police to charge into Texas school
Contributing: The Associated Press
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