Texas shooting.
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Uvalde officer asked permission to shoot gunman outside school but got no answer
An Uvalde police officer asked for a supervisor’s permission to shoot the gunman who would soon kill 21 people at Robb Elementary School in May before he entered the building, but the supervisor did not hear the request or responded too late, according to a report released Wednesday evaluating the law enforcement response to the shooting.
The request from the Uvalde officer, who was outside the school, about a minute before the gunman entered Robb Elementary had not been previously reported. The officer was reported to have been afraid of possibly shooting children while attempting to take out the gunman, according to the report released Wednesday by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center, located at Texas State University in San Marcos.
The report provides a host of new details about the May 24 shooting, including several missed opportunities to engage or stop the gunman before he entered the school.
The lack of response to the officer’s request to shoot the suspect outside the school was the most significant new detail that the report revealed.
“A reasonable officer would conclude in this case, based upon the totality of the circumstances, that use of deadly force was warranted,” according to the report. The report referred to the Texas Penal Code, which states an individual is justified in using deadly force when the individual reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent the commission of murder.
The report said one of the first responding officers — a Uvalde school district police officer — drove through the school’s parking lot “at a high rate of speed” and didn’t spot the gunman, who was still in the parking lot. The report said the officer might have seen the suspect if he had driven more slowly or parked his car at the edge of the school property and approached on foot.
The report also found flaws in how the school maintains security of the building. The report noted that propping doors open is a common practice in the school, a practice that “can create a situation that results in danger to students.” The exterior door the gunman used to enter the school had been propped open by a teacher, who then closed it before the gunman entered — but it didn’t lock properly.
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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From the RWEC:
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As teased by Karen earlier, here it is. Or at least, here’s a heavily truncated version edited by the Austin-American Statesman.
It’s not awful because it’s graphic. It isn’t. Even the children’s screams have been removed from the audio, the viewer is gently reassured at one point.
It’s awful because it brings home the extent of the cops’ paralysis in a way nothing else can. Even at just four minutes in length, with cops visible in the hallway for only about half that time, the extent of the delay is maddening. You’ll want to crawl through the screen after 60 seconds or so and head down towards the shooter yourself.
They’re outside the door of the classroom at 11:37 a.m. but a few shots from the gunman send them fleeing in terror. That’s when the long wait begins.
An officer briefly checks his smart phone at one point. Another, later in the standoff, helps himself to some hand sanitizer from the dispenser on the wall as he waits around. Ballistic shields are on scene at 11:52, but nothing happens.
There’s finally movement at around 3:15 of the clip, but pay close attention to the “real time” clock in the upper left-hand corner. The police begin making their way down the hallway at 12:21, shortly after they hear the gunman fire four more shots. But it’s another half-hour before they finally enter and take him down.
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I was surprised with how fast the first responders were in the hallway (within 3 minutes), although maybe because they had been chasing the kid and/or called in as the kid was walking towards the school firing shots.
Anyway...they initially charge towards the classroom, but back away once shot at. Ok, understandable... but jeez, you have at least 5 cops, it's easy for me to say behind a screen and keyboard, but how do you not charge the room within a few minutes?
I'm glad they removed the audio of the children screaming. Not sure I could listen to that. I'd imagine an unedited version will be leaked at some point.
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All boils down to training and command.
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Time-lapse, in case you don't want to watch an hour of cops standing around:
