Police made a mistake by not immediately breaking through the door of a classroom in the Texas village of Uvalde, where a shooting killed 19 children and two teachers on Tuesday. The officers at the scene did not consider the situation to be imminent. In retrospect, that was a “wrong decision,” state security officer Steven McCraw admitted Friday at a press conference†
Also read: An armed security guard at the door makes American schools less safe
Rather than raid the elementary school classroom, the 19 officers waited for a specially trained team in the hallway. As a result, the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was able to cause a massacre. According to McCraw, the officers initially thought he had barricaded himself and there was plenty of time to call in specialized reinforcements.
The officers allegedly waited 35 minutes before entering. McCraw argues that they should have acted immediately. “If there is an active shooter, the rules change.” The official further stated that the emergency number was called twice during the incident. Finally, the specialized agents entered the classroom after being given the key from a janitor. They killed the shooter.
Debate
Shooter Ramos posted three messages on Facebook before the shooting. That happened half an hour before he went to school, according to the Texas governor. In the messages he also announced that he would shoot his grandmother. Ramos used a semi-automatic AR-15 in the mass murder. The atrocities have sparked debate over US gun laws. Democrats in particular are calling for stricter legislation.
There is a lot of resistance to stricter rules in conservative circles. Friday evening (Dutch time) is the annual conference of the weapons lobby club NRA. Speakers will include Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and former President Donald Trump. Cruz has previously hinted that a solution could be seen in more armed security guards in schools. American society has approximately 270 million firearms.
