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Police officers responding to Tuesday’s lethal mass capturing in Uvalde, Texas, had been stalled as they entered Robb Elementary College on account of uncertainty in regards to the gunman’s location, a Texas Division of Public Security official mentioned.

Lt. Chris Olivarez supplied some perception Thursday as outrage and questions mount concerning what took regulation enforcement so lengthy to cease the gunman, who was within the faculty for as much as an hour and killed 21 individuals, together with 19 kids and two lecturers, in a single classroom.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer requested if “present greatest practices” name for officers to disable a shooter as rapidly as attainable no matter what number of officers are on web site.

WITNESSES QUESTION LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TO TEXAS SHOOTING

“Appropriate,” Olivarez mentioned.

“The energetic shooter scenario — you wish to cease the killing. You wish to protect life. But in addition one factor that, in fact, the American individuals want to know is that officers are making entry into this constructing. They have no idea the place the gunman is,” he added. “They’re listening to gunshots, they’re receiving gunshots. At that time, in the event that they proceeded any additional not understanding the place this suspect was at, they may have been shot — they may have been killed. And at that time, that gunman would have the chance to kill different individuals inside that college.”

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Three officers initially breached the college by the identical door because the shooter, the place he mentioned officers had been “taking gunfire.” At that time, they referred to as for tactical groups and extra backup “that would arrive to help not solely with the scenario but additionally to help in evacuating college students and lecturers,” Olivarez mentioned.

Finally, backup did arrive. A member of a Border Patrol tactical unit that arrived afterward has been credited with killing the shooter, recognized by authorities as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, after breaching the classroom during which he was barricaded. Olivarez mentioned they had been assisted by native officers who arrived with ballistic shields and famous that a minimum of one Border Patrol agent acquired minor accidents within the raid. Officers mentioned the gunman used a rifle within the bloodbath and in addition shot and wounded his grandmother earlier than the assault on the college.

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Earlier Thursday, Texas officers walked again earlier claims {that a} faculty officer engaged Ramos earlier than Ramos entered the constructing.

“It was reported {that a} faculty district police officer confronted the suspect that was making entry. Not correct. He walked in unobstructed initially,” mentioned Victor Escalon, South Texas regional director for the Division of Public Security. “So from the grandmother’s home to the automobile ditch to the college, into the college, he was not confronted by anyone, to clear the file on that. 4 minutes later, regulation enforcement are coming in to resolve this drawback.”

The capturing continues to be beneath investigation.