The school district police chief has been placed on administrative leave after delaying an assault on a mass shooter who brutally murdered 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, according to the school district superintendent on Wednesday (Jun 22).
The majority of "active shooter" attacks in America last less than five minutes. The attack on the schoolchildren in Uvalde lasted an hour.
That is how long police stayed for backup on Tuesday before moving on the gunman, who sprayed bullets into classrooms, killing 19 children and two teachers.
This revelation, provided by a Texas law enforcement official on Thursday, has infuriated parents who wonder if a quicker response could have saved lives.
Chief Pete Arredondo led the law enforcement answer in Uvalde on May 24 and will be replaced by Lieutenant Mike Hernandez, according to Superintendent Hal Harrell.
The Texas Department of Public Safety chief called the response "an abject failure" for failing to intervene promptly while the attacker was still holed up in the classroom where the children were killed.
It is standard police procedure to confront a school shooter immediately, even if it puts officers' lives at risk.
According to Victor Escalon, the state Department of Public Safety's South Texas regional director, the 18-year-old gunman walked unimpeded into Robb Elementary School on Tuesday morning, 12 minutes after crashing his grandmother's pickup and firing shots at people nearby and outside the school. Police officers from the city and school district arrived four minutes later but withdrew after the gunman fired on them, according to Escalon. The gunman then approached a classroom and opened fire on children and teachers, as well as police.
In an interview with the Texas Tribune published on June 9, Arredondo defended his actions, saying his top focus was to save the lives of as many teachers and students as possible. However, he claimed that officers on the scene did not find a key to unlock the classroom door until 77 minutes after the massacre started.
Even so, the public safety chief, Steven McCraw, told a Texas Senate hearing on Tuesday that the door was not locked and that there were no proof officers attempted to see if it was secured while others tried to search for a key.
Arredondo, who was elected to the Uvalde City Council shortly before the shooting, is also in danger of losing his seat. He requested a leave of absence and did not attend Tuesday night's city council meeting when the rest of the council denied him a leave of absence.
