In the hallway outside classrooms 111 and 112 at Robb Elementary, one officer’s daughter was inside, and another officer’s wife told her husband by phone that she was bleeding to death.
Another officer from the Texas Department of Public Safety had arrived 20 minutes after the shooter and asked, “Are there still kids in the classrooms? If there is, then they just need to go in.”
Another officer answered, “It is unknown at this time.”
The agent shot back, “Y’all don’t know if there’s kids in there?” He added, “If there’s kids in there we need to go in there.”
“Whoever is in charge will determine that,” came the reply.
Another hour passed before a tactical team from the Border Patrol breached the classroom doors and killed the gunman.
Authorities have reconstructed the events of the attack using footage from inside the school, as well as footage from a dozen body cams of officers inside Robb Elementary.
The new footage shows that multiple officers were inside the building with rifles and at least one ballistic shield, 19 minutes after the gunman arrived. They didn’t enter the classroom the shooter was inside for nearly another hour.
Key findings being reported:
- No security footage showed officers attempting to open the doors to the two classrooms. Pete Arredondo, school police chief, said he and other officers tried opening the doors, but said they were reinforced and impenetrable.
- A Halligan (a firefighter’s tool similar to an axe) was on scene within minutes, but was never used.
- Officers had four ballastic shields inside the school. The first one arrived 58 minutes before officers stormed the classrooms, and the last was there 30 minutes before the gunman was killed.
- Multiple officers entered the school at various times, but many left quickly after seeing the number of officers already on the scene. One of those officers was confused and asked why the classroom hadn’t been breached, and was told no orders had been given.
- At least some of the officers believed Arredondo was in charge, who was at times giving orders for officers to evacuate other classrooms.
KVUE, and the Texas Tribune has an extensive, detailed report from the camera footage records.
