Texas DPS on Uvalde shooting: 'It was the wrong decision,' not to breach classroom
UVALDE, TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Texas Department of Public Safety today shared the latest on their investigation into Tuesday's shooting at a Uvalde elementary school that killed 19 children and two teachers.
The May 27 press conference came as several different law enforcement entities from across the state were called in by Uvalde police to not only assist in supplementing their police force, but to also provide extra protection to police and the mayor following heavy criticism and threats linked to their hour-long response time to the Robb Elementary School shooting, according to officials with the Texas Police Chiefs Association.
Steven McCraw, Director Texas Department of Public Safety addressed the criticism and provided a timeline for the public.
When pressed on the gap between the time the shooting started, and the 19 officers inside the school entered the classrooms, he explained that the on-scene commander no longer "considered it an active shooter" after it got quiet and changed the response to that of a "barricaded subject." But a teacher and at least one child had called 911 in that time. The teacher told dispatchers there were at least 8-9 students still alive. It's unclear why that information didn't make it to officers.
"It wasn't the right decision. It was the wrong decision not to breach," said McCraw, who added officers thought they had more time to organize and get more equipment.
He also described the 911 call that came in from one of the classrooms during the shooting. He confirmed that two children who called 911 survived.
McCraw also clarified that statements by Governor Abbott on May 25 about the gunman posting publicly to Facebook that he shot his grandmother and was going to attack an elementary school, were incorrect. The shooter did make those statements, but they were "actually on a Facebook application messenger application to somebody else that he had had conversation with."
McCraw also dispelled some reports that law enforcement officers entered the school and saved their own children.
As the investigation continues, it's quite possible the details will continue to change. Please click back to CBSDFW.com for updates as the story develops.