Published: Less than 1 hour ago
Almost 400 police officers were at the scene.
But it took 77 minutes before they stopped the school shooter in Uvalde.
The police operation was characterized by “systematic failures and extremely poor decision-making”, according to a new report.
Criticism of the police has been harsh since the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas on May 24.
A total of 21 people, including 19 children and two teachers, died when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School and opened fire in two classrooms.
In retrospect, it turned out that it took a full 77 minutes for the police to stop the shooter, despite the fact that the first forces were in place already three minutes after the perpetrator entered the building.
In addition, the surveillance film from the school has been released and provoked strong reactions. The recording shows how several police officers are stationed in the corridor while the mass shooting is going on behind a closed classroom door.
A new report, produced by the Texas House of Representatives, describes the efforts of all authorities involved as “nonchalant.” The school is also judged to have failed in its security measures.
“Prioritized their own safety”
But no single person has been singled out as responsible for the situation.
“Apart from the perpetrator, this report has not found any ‘villain’ during the course of the investigation. There is no one who has acted maliciously or with malicious intent. Instead, we found systematic failures and extremely poor decision-making “, the report says according to several media, including Washington Post.
Local as well as state and federal police authorities are singled out. They wasted “precious time”, the report states.
“The police failed to follow their ‘active shooter’ training, and they failed to prioritize the lives of innocent people over their own safety.”
A total of 376 police officers were at the scene. The decision to confront Salvador Ramos was made by a “small group” of people, writes New York Times.
But then it had been over an hour. Such an order should have been given long before, the investigation states. If they had acted faster, it might have saved lives.
“The lack of leadership may have contributed to the loss of life as injured victims waited for over an hour for help, and the perpetrator continued to sporadically fire his weapon,” it said.
The father: “The betrayed students”
Republican Dustin Burrows, chairman of the committee that wrote the report, believes much more could have been done, much faster.
– Several police officers in that corridor or in the building knew or should have known that there were dying people in the classroom and they should have acted more urgently, he says according to CNN.
Uvalde’s Police Chief, Pete Arredondo, and Uvalde’s Chief of Police Mariano Pargas have been suspended from their post-Robb Elementary School failure.
The families of the deceased have demanded explanations and that those responsible are held accountable.
– It’s a joke. Texas betrayed students. The judiciary betrayed the students. Our government betrayed the students, Vincent Salazar, whose 11-year-old daughter Layla Salazar was killed in the act, told ABC News on Sunday.
– If I were those cops, I would leave town. They do not deserve to be here.