At least 19 children and two teachers were killed earlier this week during a school shooting in the United States. Now, a Texas Department of Public Safety official has explained why police hesitated to enter the premises.
The shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, shot and killed students at Robb Elementary School in Ulvade on Tuesday, 24 May.
He was later shot by law enforcement at the scene.
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The shooting has been dubbed the most lethal at a US grade school since the tragic Sandy Hook shooting where 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people.
Issuing a statement on the matter, President Joe Biden said: "When in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?"
"I am sick and tired. We have to act," he continued.
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Police officers were initially cautious in engaging with the shooter out of fears 'they could've been shot', a Texas Department of Public Safety official has said.
Ramos was reported to have been inside of the school for approximately one hour before responding officers entered the premises and killed him.
Following this statement, much of the public and surrounding media outlets questioned the officers' hesitation to respond, especially considering one student reportedly bled for nearly an hour after sustaining heavy injuries from the rifle.
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Two days after the horrific event, Wolf Blitzer sat down with DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez to discuss the tragedy on CNN's The Situation Room.
The two talked about the response time, with Blitzer questioning Olivarez if police did the right thing in waiting for over an hour.
He replied: "The active shooter situation, you want to stop the killing, you want to preserve life, but also one thing that – of course, the American people need to understand — that officers are making entry into this building. They do not know where the gunman is. They are hearing gunshots."
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He continued: "They are receiving gunshots. At that point, if they proceeded any further not knowing where the suspect was at, they could’ve been shot, they could’ve been killed, and that gunman would have had an opportunity to kill other people inside that school."
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Rhiannon Ingle