UVALDE: Nearly 20 officers were in a hallway outside of the classrooms at a Texas elementary school for more than 45 minutes before agents used a master key to open a door and confront a gunman, authorities said Friday.
The on-site commander believed the gunman was barricaded in a classroom at
Robb Elementary School in
Uvalde during Tuesday's attack and that the children were not at risk, Texas Department of Public Safety Director
Steven McCraw said at a news conference.
“Of course it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision,” McCraw said.
Children repeatedly called 911 asking for help, including one who pleaded: “Please send the police now.”
US Border Patrol agents eventually used a master key to open the locked door of the classroom where they confronted and killed the gunman, 18-year-old
Salvador Ramos, McCraw said.