Police officers were slow to enter Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, to confront a gunman because “they could’ve been shot,” a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety said Thursday.
Lt. Chris Olivarez spoke with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to describe the law enforcement response after an 18-year-old gunman entered the school on Tuesday, killing 19 young children and two teachers. Olivarez said officers responded quickly that day amid reports there was a gunman at the school, but waited for a tactical team to fully confront the man, identified as Salvador Ramos, and kill him.
Police have offered changing explanations of the timeline after they arrived at the school, and varying accounts say the gunman was left inside a classroom with children and teachers for 40 minutes to an hour before he was killed.
