- A top Texas official said police could have stopped the Uvalde school shooter within minutes.
- Steve McCraw said there was a hallway full of officers ready to enter the classrooms, but the on-scene commander chose to wait for backup.
- He added that the on-scene commander "decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children."
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said cops responding to the shooter at a Uvalde elementary school could have stopped the gunman within minutes, but that the commanding officer prioritized the lives of officers over the lives of students.
"Three minutes after the subject entered the west building there were sufficient number of armed officers wearing body armor to isolate, distract, and neutralize the subject," Steve McCraw testified to state lawmakers on Tuesday.
"The only thing stopping the hallway of dedicated officers from entering rooms 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander, who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children," he continued.
McCraw noted that officers had guns and body armor whereas the children had none. Similarly, the officers were trained to handle an active shooter, and the shooter had no such training.
"There is compelling evidence the law enforcement response to the attack at Robb Elementary was an abject failure and antithetical to everything we've learned over the last two decades since the Columbine massacre," McCraw said.
McCraw said the on-scene commander, Uvalde School Police Chief Pete Arredondo, chose to wait for backup, supplies, and SWAT before entering rooms 111 and 112.
He added that Arredondo waited for a key to open the classroom door "that was never needed."
"The post-Columbine doctrine is clear and compelling and unambiguous," he continued. "Stop the killing. Stop the dying."
"Obviously not enough training was done in this situation, plain and simple, because of terrible decisions," McCraw said. "Terrible decisions were made by the on-scene commander and should have never happened plain and simple."
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire on two fourth-grade classrooms at Robb Elementary.
Texas officials have faced backlash for not confronting the shooter fast enough. Texas DPS officials have put the blame on Arredondo, who made the call to wait for backup instead of infiltrating the classroom with the shooter immediately.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
