When the shooter arrived on campus on Tuesday, there was no armed guard on duty, allowing him to pass ‘unobstructed’ through an unsecured entrance and into the building where he massacred 21 people, according to Texas authorities.
Victor Escalon, the Regional Director for the Department of Public Safety South Texas, stated Salvador Ramos strolled through an unlocked door ‘unobstructed’ and that no guard was’readyly accessible’ at a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
He did not shoot at a school resource officer, according to early claims.
Ramos entered the school at 11.40am, 12 minutes after crashing his truck outside the school and walking towards campus with his AR-15. That is when police were alerted to the scene.
At 11.44am, the first cops entered the school. Ramos shot at them and they retreated.
It’s unclear if he had already shot the kids and teachers in the fourth grade classroom by then, or if he went on to attack them after those cops retreated.
It then took an hour for specialized SWAT teams to arrive. At 1.06pm, the incident was declared over after Ramos was shot dead.
In the meantime, 150 cops were gathering outside. Some of them were filmed pinning parents to the floor and some were even placed in handcuffs, according to witnesses.
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He walked in unobstructed initially. He was not confronted by anybody. Four minutes later, law enforcement are coming in to solve this problem,’ Escalon said.
When the first cops entered the building, he fired at them, injuring at least two of them. The cops then retreated, leaving him to carry on with his killing.
‘They hear gunfire, they take rounds, get back and take cover… they don’t make entry initially because of the gunfire they are receiving. They are calling for additional resources, tactical teams, we needed body armor, precision rifles, negotiators.
‘They are also evacuating students. There’s a lot going on,’ he said.
It’s unclear if there was meant to be a resource officer at the school that day. There are four in the district and there are nine schools, including four elementary schools, a junior high and a high school.
On Thursday, Escalon claimed that most of the shooting occurred early in the standoff and that the only shots fired once cops were there were to keep them at bay.
Now, there are questions over why it took so long to catch the gunman and whether or not any of the kids could have been saved.
‘There are a lot of possibilities, there was numerous officers at that classroom. Once we interview all those officers and find out what they were thinking, we’ll have a better idea,’ he said.
Javier Cazares, whose nine-year-old daughter was murdered, says cops were ‘just standing there’ and waiting for protective shields to arrive at the scene before they went in.
‘They said they rushed in and all that, we didn’t see that,’ he told The New York Times, adding that many were ‘just standing there.’
‘There were plenty of men out there armed to the teeth that could have gone in faster. This could have been over in a couple minutes,’ he said.
He added that police were faster to escort Beto O’Rourke out of the press conference yesterday when he started heckling the governor than they were to get into the school.
Angel Garza, whose daughter was killed, was handcuffed after trying to run into the school when he heard that a ‘girl called Amerie’ had been shot. He later found out that she was among those who died while giving medical aid to other children who escaped.
Derek Sotelo, 26, who works in a tire shop nearby, said parents were begging to be let into the school.
‘They were just angry, especially the dads. We were wondering, “What the heck is going on? Are they going in?” ‘The dads were saying, “Give me the vest, I’ll go in there!’
Frustrated parents were standing outside the school begging cops to go inside when the shooting was unfolding.
Javier Cazares, whose nine-year-old daughter was murdered, says cops were ‘just standing there’ and waiting for protective shields to arrive at the scene before they went in.
‘They said they rushed in and all that, we didn’t see that,’ he told The New York Times, adding that many were ‘just standing there.’
‘There were plenty of men out there armed to the teeth that could have gone in faster. This could have been over in a couple minutes,’ he said.
He added that police were faster to escort Beto O’Rourke out of the press conference yesterday when he started heckling the governor than they were to get into the school.
Angel Garza, whose daughter was killed, was handcuffed after trying to run into the school when he heard that a ‘girl called Amerie’ had been shot. He later found out that she was among those who died while giving medical aid to other children who escaped.
Derek Sotelo, 26, who works in a tire shop nearby, said parents were begging to be let into the school.
‘They were just angry, especially the dads. We were wondering, “What the heck is going on? Are they going in?” ‘The dads were saying, “Give me the vest, I’ll go in there!’
One child told KENS 5 that he was able to hide under a desk, but that a girl who yelled out ‘help’ when police arrived was executed.
‘When the cops came, the cop said: “Yell if you need help!” And one of the persons in my class said ‘help.’ The guy overheard and he came in and shot her. The cop barged into that classroom. The guy shot at the cop. And the cops started shooting,’ the boy said.
One shocking video shows them even holding some parents back as they tried to get inside.
The footage shows a parent being pinned to the ground by an officer, while another carrying a taser stands guard nearby.
Other footages shows parents begging the cops: ‘What are you doing!? Get inside the building!’
Another woman could be heard to say ‘They’re trapped inside’ as howls of pained anguish rang out in the background.
It was unclear at what time the footage was shot. It also emerged Wednesday that Customs and Border Patrol agents who rushed to the scene had to grab a key from school staff to open the door of the classroom where the bloodbath took place.
That is because they were unable to break the door down themselves.
The first 911 call was received at 11:32am on Tuesday, and the gunman was killed at 1pm – after a Border Patrol agent was given a key to the door, behind which the gunman was barricaded with the fourth grade class.
Javier Cazares, whose fourth grade daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting, arriving while police were still gathered outside the building.
Upset that police were not moving in, he raised the idea of charging into the school with several other bystanders.
‘Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,’ he said.
‘More could have been done. They were unprepared.’
PICTURED: The 19 children and two teachers butchered by 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos in Texas
Amerie Jo Garza, 10
Amerie Jo Garza, a fourth grader at Robb Elementary, was one of 19 students confirmed to be killed Tuesday morning by Ramos, who cops say was carrying a handgun and an AR-15 during the attack that also killed two teachers in the classroom.
Her grandmother, Berlinda Irene Arreola, said the 10-year-old was killed as she tried to phone 911 while sitting next to her best friend, who ended up ‘covered in her blood.’
Uziyah Garcia, 8
Uziyah Garcia, the youngest victim at age eight, was also killed in the attack.
The child’s family announced he was killed hours after announcing he was among the many children unaccounted for following the tragedy.
The boy’s grandfather, Manny Renfro, broke the news early Wednesday after being notified by authorities.
‘[He was] the sweetest little boy that I’ve ever known,’ Renfro said. ‘I’m not just saying that because he was my grandkid.’
Makenna Elrod, 10
Makenna Elrod, 10, had also been among the missing in the chaos that followed the massacre, with her father, Brandon Elrod telling reporters at the time he feared ‘she may not be alive.’
Her death was eventually confirmed by a family friend on Wednesday. ‘It’s pretty sad what this world’s coming to,’ the girl’s father told local outlet KTRK after the shooting.
A mother of one of Makenna’s friends lamented the loss in a post to Facebook.
‘Sweet Makenna Rest in Paradise!! My heart is shattered as my daughter Chloe loved her so much!!’ the mom wrote. A relative Wednesday confirmed that the girl had been among the victims.
Xavier Lopez, 10
Xavier Lopez, 10, was the first student victim to be identified as one of Ramos’ victims.
The child’s mother, Felicha Martinez, told the Washington Post Tuesday that just hours before the massacre, the mom had been at the school to see her son participate an honor roll ceremony.
She took a picture showing her son showing off his certificate.
In the last exchange she had with the child, the mom heartbreakingly told the boy that she was proud of him and that she loved him, giving him a hug goodbye – not knowing it would be the last time she would see him alive.
‘He was funny, never serious and his smile… that smile I will never forget,’ she recalled after learning of his death from police. ‘It would always cheer anyone up.’
Eliahana Torres, 10
Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10, had also been missing for hours until she was confirmed to be among the dead.
Adolfo Cruz, her great-grandfather, said she didn’t want to attend school the day of the shooting – but was told by her family that she had to attend.
He said he remained outside the school g
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