By Janice Li
Edited by Ananya Gondesi and William Cao
On May 24, 2022, Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old gunman, killed nineteen students and two teachers and wounded more than a dozen others at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Ramos also shot and killed his own grandmother in the face.
Frustrated and frightened parents were waiting outside the school for news. A question has arised which has brought confusion and frustration to many individuals: why did law enforcement take so long to respond to the situation?
This question has become the objective in over three investigations; most recently, in the Texas House Committee. The report came to the conclusion that the order to confront the shooter could have been given far earlier, meaning that there was a significant chance of survival for some victims if the police had not waited as long as they had. The report also noted that the school police chief, numerous state police, and a large number of U.S Border Patrol agents all had delayed responses to the situation.
At least nine police officers entered the school building in what looked as a coordinated entry approximately three minutes after the shooter walked in. Roughly ten seconds had passed since the last round of gunfire could be heard from the classrooms, which was then followed by a protracted pause. Seven officers entered in a single file from one end of the hallway and at least two appeared on the opposite end.
For the first time, video footage demonstrated how swiftly the police officers arrived at the scene of the shooting. Although officials had previously stated that officers were shot at when they first approached the door, the direction of the gunfire coming from the classroom is unclear from the video footage. Two officers carrying rifles, at least three officers, moved swiftly in the direction of the classroom entrance while ducking for cover.
However, while the gunman was firing his weapon into the adjacent classrooms, officers wearing body armor — some even with ballistic shields — were spotted wandering about in the school hallways.
The leaked video also included a clip of two police officers fist-bumping each other and another officer using hand sanitizer from the dispenser on the wall. A group of policemen, including US Border Patrol Agents dressed in tactical gear, advanced down the hallway around 12:21 pm. Once more, officers waited until 12:50 pm — almost thirty minutes later — to enter the classroom and neutralize the shooter.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Pedro (Pete) Arredondo, the police chief for that particular school district, happened to be the officer in command. Arredondo has come under fire from the outraged parents of the victims as well as local authorities/law enforcement officials.
According to the DPS, Arredondo wrongly identified the siege as a barricade incident, which necessitates a more measured response. As reported by a joint committee of the Texas Legislature report released just last week, Arredondo allegedly failed to assume the role of an incident commander or delegate the responsibility to another police officer during the shooting, despite the fact that the Uvalde school district’s active shooter plan called for its police chief to do so in the event of a school shooting.
Arredondo told The Texas Tribune last month that he did not see himself as the commanding officer on the scene. Many parents urged administrators to have Arredondo and other Uvlada school police officers fired during an open forum held by the Uvlada school board on Monday.
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