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Disturbing video shows gunman entering Uvalde elementary school, slow police response

An investigation is still ongoing to determine how many victims died after police arrived on the scene

July 12, 2022 6:10pm

Updated: July 13, 2022 9:35am

Footage shows the suspect in a recent Texas mass shooting entering Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and firing his way into a classroom as police officers responded three minutes later, only to wait outside in the hallway for more than an hour before neutralizing the gunman.

The video obtained by the Austin American-Statesman begins with the alleged gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, appearing to crash a truck outside of the school and fire several rounds before entering the building. 

The footage features a 911 call from a frantic teacher who was interrupted by gunshots.

"Get down! Get in your rooms! Get in your rooms!" she yells.

The suspect enters the elementary school without a problem and flips back his hair as he heads toward the classrooms at 11:33 am.

A young boy leaves the bathroom to go back to class, but he pauses when he notices the gunman by the classroom door and firing his way in, the school security camera shows.

The boy then runs away into the bathroom, and less than 30 seconds after entering the building, the gunman enters a classroom.

The Statesman does not show victims being shot in the video, but the content is disturbing and viewer discretion is advised:

The suspect fired more than 100 rounds in two classrooms over two and a half minutes, authorities stated.

"Children scream. The gunfire continues, stops, then starts again. Stops, then starts again. And again. And again," the Statesman reported, without including audio of the screaming children in the video.

Police officers arrive on the scene less than three minutes after the gunman entered the classroom, but they retreat after hearing gunshots.

Less than 20 minutes later, at 11:52 am, heavily armed officers with ballistic shields and helmets arrive.

Law enforcement remains at the end of the hallway, right below the school surveillance camera, until 12:21 pm, when the gunman is heard firing four more rounds and officers move to stand outside of the classroom door.

Finally, at 12:50 pm, 77 minutes after the gunman entered the school, a Border Patrol tactical team breaches the classroom and kills the suspect.

Nineteen fourth graders and two teachers died in the May 24 massacre.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw stated in the aftermath of the incident that school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo responded slowly because he responded as if it were a barricaded subject, not an active shooter.

McCraw blamed Arredondo for holding officers back. He said law enforcement should have immediately confronted the gunman. 

The video shows officers from "the Uvalde Police Department, Uvalde County sheriff's department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, U.S. Border Patrol, and U.S. Marshals Service," the Statesman observed.

An investigation is still ongoing to determine how many victims died after police arrived on the scene. 

Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows, chair of the House committee investigating the incident, on Tuesday said the panel will release the hallway surveillance video on Sunday.

Local, state and federal officials are also reportedly denying requests to release information about the police response, such as body camera videos and 911 call transcripts, which could shed light on the police response, including 911 call transcripts, and arrest records from the day of the attack.

The arrest records would be able to corroborate the claims of a mother who said U.S. marshals arrested her as she stood outside of the school with other parents and urged law enforcement to stop the attack.