I keep waiting for the shocking revelations about the police response to Tuesday’s horrific school shooting in Uvalde, TX, to subside, but things just keep managing to get worse.
As RedState has reported, we’ve learned that the police arrived, disengaged from the shooter out of fear of being shot, and then waited for at least an hour before a group of Border Patrol agents entered the building and neutralized the killer. Also, witnesses described disturbing scenes, including parents asking the officers at the scene for help while they were outside, harrassing their parents.
Another disturbing piece of information exposes the ineptness and deadly nature of the police response. According to NBC News, Border Patrol agents that arrived and took down the gunman were kept back for about half an hour by local police. It wasn’t until they decided to disobey that order to stand down that the situation was brought to a close.
Federal agents who went to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday to confront a gunman who killed 19 children were told by local police to wait and not enter the school — and then decided after about half an hour to ignore that initial guidance and find the shooter, say two senior federal law enforcement officials.
According to the officials, agents from BORTAC, the Customs and Border Protection tactical unit, and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrived on the scene between noon and 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday. The local law enforcement requested that they wait and instructed HSI agents, to assist in removing the children from their windows.
Armed with tactical gear, the BORTAC team initially did not make any movement towards the gunman. After approximately 30 minutes passed, however, the federal agents opted of their own volition to lead the “stack” of officers inside the school and take down the shooter.
The shooter survived by hiding in the classroom of children, it has been proven. Think about what it would have been like if the Border Patrol agents sat on the sidelines for any more. What number of more children would be killed?
I’m trying to imagine what reason there could have been for the local police to order its officers to not enter the school for an hour. They should have been rushing in from the beginning–without retreat–until the children still alive were saved. The massacre was stopped by at least seven police officers.
Yet, it’s even more unthinkable that the same decision-makers would then prevent the Border Patrol team from entering. Was there anything they were waiting for? If a tactical team wasn’t good enough, what would have been? It seems the answer is that the local police didn’t believe there was still an active shooter situation, presumably believing that the shooter had already killed everyone in the room he was in. I find it hard to believe that someone with power would give up this easily.
It appears that this scenario, however terrible it was, may have been possible. Worse if it weren’t for these Border Patrol agents who told the local police enough is enough. The people in charge should be held accountable, both financially and legally.
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