More and more details are coming to light as officials investigate the Uvalde school district police response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School. The latest accusations are pointed at the onsite commander Chief Pete Arredondo.
The Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told the state Senate committee Tuesday that the law enforcements response to the shooting in Uvalde was an “abject to failure.” McCraw claims officers could have stopped the shooter within three-minutes upon arrival, however, due to indecisiveness it took a little over an hour.
“The officers had weapons; the children had none. The officers had body armor; the children had none. The officers had training; the subject had none. One hour, 14 minutes and 8 seconds. That’s how long children waited, and the teachers waited, in Room 111 to be rescued.”
Arredondo stated that they were waiting on keys to enter the locked classroom where the shooter was located. He also said they were holding out for more officers, firepower, and a breaching tool.
It is on record that the classroom door was in fact not locked during the shooting.
McCraw also noted Tuesday that while Arredondo was the rightful incident commander of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, he could have transferred command to state troopers when they arrived, but didn’t. He said “the failure of one police agency means all law enforcement performed unacceptably that day.”
