UVALDE, United States — A top
Texas security
official said Friday that police were wrong to delay storming the classroom
where a teen gunman was holed up with dead and wounded children — fueling fears
that police inaction cost lives in Uvalde.
اضافة اعلان
Police have come under intense criticism since
Tuesday’s tragedy over why it took well over an hour to neutralize the gunman —
who ultimately killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.
“From the benefit of hindsight... it was the wrong
decision, period,” Texas Department of Public Safety director Steven McCraw
told an emotional news conference, at which his voice broke repeatedly as he
was assailed by questions over the delay.
“From what we know, we believe there should have
been an entry as soon as you can,” McCraw said, adding: “If I thought it would
help, I’d apologize.”
McCraw revealed in harrowing detail a series of
emergency calls — including by a child begging for police help — that were made
from the two adjoining classrooms where the gunman was barricaded.
But in seeking to explain the delay, he also said
the on-scene commander believed at the time that the 18-year-old gunman
Salvador Ramos was in there alone, with no survivors, after his initial
assault.
“I’m not defending anything, but you go back in the
timeline, there was a barrage, hundreds of rounds were pumped in in four
minutes, okay, into those two classrooms,” McCraw said.
“Any firing afterwards was sporadic and it was at
the door. So the belief is that there may not be anybody living anymore.”
McCraw separately told reporters, however, that a
911 call received at 12:16pm — one of several made from inside the classrooms —
reported eight or nine children still alive.
As many as 19 officers were outside the classroom
door at that time, plus an unknown number of tactical team members who had just
arrived, according to McCraw’s timeline.
The door was eventually opened at 12:50pm with keys
provided by a janitor.
Texas Governor Gregg Abbott meanwhile told
journalists who grilled him during a testy news conference Friday that he was
given inaccurate information in the wake of the massacre.
“I was misled,” Abbott said. “The information that I
was given turned out in part to be inaccurate, and I’m absolutely livid about
that.”
NRA convention
The powerful
National Rifle Association kicked off a major convention in Houston Friday, but a string of
high-profile no-shows underscored deep unease at the timing of the gun lobby
event.
Former president Donald Trump criticized calls for
tightened gun controls in remarks at the three-day annual convention, held
around four hours’ drive from Uvalde.
“The existence of evil in our world is not a reason
to disarm law-abiding citizens,” Trump said. “The existence of evil is one of
the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens.”
Thousands of gun enthusiasts descended on the event,
filling a vast convention hall packed with booths displaying guns, walls of
semi-automatic rifles and hunting products.
“This is it, this is the mega,” said a man in his
60s, as he handled a new rifle he was considering purchasing.
But with millions of Americans grieving and angry
following the
Uvalde shooting, “American Pie” singer Don McLean led a wave of
dropouts from the event, while Abbott said he would no longer appear in person.
McLean said it would be “disrespectful and hurtful”
to perform at the “Grand Ole Night of Freedom” concert scheduled during the
convention on Saturday. At least five other country music stars, including Lee
Greenwood and Larry Gatlin, have also reportedly pulled out.
Facing mounting scrutiny, the gun manufacturer Daniel
Defense — which made the assault rifle purchased by Ramos — also decided to
stay away.
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