Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother in the face before he left the home they shared, but she survived and called police
Police in the Texas town of Uvalde are facing mounting criticism after it surfaced on Thursday that it took about an hour for officers to shoot the gunman who attacked a primary school, killing 19 children and two teachers.
America’s deadliest school shooting in a decade ended when a tactical team from the US Border Patrol, which has a base close to Robb Elementary School, entered and killed the attacker, Salvador Ramos, 18.
But local police agencies had already been at the scene for about an hour, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Victor Escalon said. They did not enter the school because they had received gunfire from Ramos and were awaiting backup and body armour.
“They don’t make entry initially because of the gunfire they’re receiving,” Mr Escalon told a news conference.
Shocked community members have told US media that frustrated onlookers outside the school on Tuesday had urged police to charge in.
“Go in there! Go in there!” people shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who watched the scene from outside a house across the street.
Jacinto Cazares, whose daughter, Jacklyn, died in the massacre, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting.
“There was at least 40 lawmen armed to the teeth but didn’t do a darn thing [until] it was far too late,” Mr Cazares told ABC News on Wednesday night, joining other grief-stricken parents quoted in US media as saying they urged police to act more forcefully.
“The situation could’ve been over quick if they had better tactical training, and we as a community witnessed it first-hand,” said Mr Cazares.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday had praised the police response and said the shooting “could have been worse”.
“The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do. They showed amazing courage, running towards gunfire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives,” Mr Abbott said.
Daniel Myers and his wifex, Matilda — both local pastors — told AFP they were at the scene and saw parents growing frantic as police appeared to wait on reinforcements before entering the school.
“Parents were desperate,” said Mr Myers, 72. “They were ready to go in. One family member, he says: ‘I was in the military, just give me a gun, I’ll go in. I’m not going to hesitate. I’ll go in.’
“So there was desperation there, there was time lapse,” he told AFP at a makeshift memorial outside the school, where wooden crosses have been erected with victims’ names.
Tuesday’s attack at the school in Uvalde, located about 100 kilometres from the Mexican border, unfolded when Ramos shot his grandmother in the face, authorities said.
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