Parents who were frustrated with the delayed response of Texas police tried to enter the elementary school where an active shooter was barricading himself inside a classroom, video evidence shows.
A group of adults began yelling at officers just before noon to let them inside if the police refused to enter the school and arrest the suspected shooter, according to a Facebook video recorded by a witness and verified by the Washington Post. Police stood outside the building for at least 40 minutes after the gunman stormed into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a new report.
PARENTS BEGGED POLICE FOR UPWARD OF 40 MINUTES TO STOP TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTER: REPORT
"You know that there are kids, right? They're little kids, they don't know how to defend themselves," the man shooting the video tells an officer. "Six-year-old kids in there, they don't know how to defend themselves against a shooter."
The video shows an officer pushing an adult man away and yelling at him to get across the street so the police can respond, prompting cries from some parents to "walk into that gate and get him."
The verified footage reveals new details about the timeline of the police response to the mass shooting that left 21 victims dead, including 19 children and two adults. The recorded video begins around 11:54 a.m. local time, suggesting the gunman was inside the school for at least an hour before police announced at 1:06 p.m. that he had been shot and killed.
Investigators are piecing together what happened over the course of the massacre, which ended with a Border Patrol team rushing in and killing the 18-year-old shooter. The lagged response prompted criticism from witnesses at the scene, with authorities announcing on Thursday they would conduct a review of police conduct amid conflicting statements regarding the timeline.
Officials will review the timeline by analyzing nearby traffic cameras and ballistics to determine who fired bullets and when, according to reports.
The shooter, identified as Salvador Ramos, entered the building around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, shortly after crashing his truck nearby, according to police. Ramos then entered the school with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle and "encountered" a school district security officer, but it's not clear whether they exchanged gunfire.
Ramos entered the school and shot and wounded two Uvalde police officers arriving outside, according to Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine. He then barricaded himself inside a classroom, where he shot and killed 19 students and two teachers.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Border Patrol agents had difficulty getting into the classroom and could only enter when a staff member opened the door with a key, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.
Uvalde is a town of roughly 16,000 people and is situated between San Antonio and Del Rio. The town is just dozens of miles away from the U.S.-Mexico border and has a Border Patrol station.
Police have not determined a motive for the attack. Several agencies are assisting with the investigation, including the Uvalde Police Department, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and others.