An Uvalde, Texas police officer who was situated by Robb Elementary School reportedly requested permission to shoot the gunman before he entered the school.
Per the Texas Tribune, the officer asked a supervisor for the go-ahead to shoot 18-year-old Salvador Rolando Ramos before the latter got inside the school building. The supervisor did not respond to the request, or responded too late, according to a newly released report from the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center in San Marcos.
The officer was situated outside the school approximately a minute before Ramos went inside, where he killed 19 young children and two teachers. The unnamed officer also expressed concern that they could accidentally shoot a child in an attempt to stop the gunman, who had opened fire before gaining entry to the building.
“A reasonable officer would conclude in this case, based upon the totality of the circumstances, that use of deadly force was warranted,” reads the report. It also refers to the Texas Penal Code, which states that use of deadly force is justified if the individual believes it could prevent murder.
The report outlines other failings in the police response to the situation. Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo previously said the door to room 111, one of the two classrooms the gunman entered, was locked. The report indicates the lock “was never engaged.” Officers were also situated across the school at both ends of the same hallway, which meant friendly fire was a “high likelihood” if the suspect left the classroom.
When police entered the school, officers reportedly failed to engage with the shooter for an extended period of time. “Ideally, the officers would have placed accurate return fire on the attacker when the attacker began shooting at them,” the report reads. “Maintaining position or even pushing forward to a better spot to deliver accurate return fire would have undoubtedly been dangerous, and there would have been a high probability that some of the officers would have been shot or even killed. However, the officers also would likely have been able to stop the attacker and then focus on getting immediate medical care to the wounded.”
Last month, the mayor of Uvalde announced that the school will be demolished. “You can never ask a child to go back, or a teacher to go back, to that school ever," said Don McLaughlin.
