AUSTIN, Texas — A new report on the Uvalde elementary school massacre in Texas shows police had an opportunity to stop the attack before it started.
A report from The Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University says a police officer spotted the gunman carrying a rifle outside of the school.
"The officer, armed with a rifle, asked his supervisor for permission to shoot the suspect," the report states. "However, the supervisor either did not hear or responded too late."
The report says the gunman began firing about a minute later.
Three Uvalde police officers responded within minutes, but they did not appear to have breaching tools, medical equipment or ballistic shields.
The report says the officers made it to the threshold of the room where the shooter was located, but began taking fire. That drove them away and back into the hallways, the report says.
The report details that 911 operators received numerous call from a child inside the classroom. The child reportedly told the operators that a teacher and several children were dead and another teacher was hurt.
The report states that the suspect "had concealed himself in a book closet" and then emerged when the team made entry. He was shot and killed at 12:50 p.m., more than an hour after entering the school building.
Two teachers and 19 students died in the massacre.
The report also says some of the 21 victims could have been saved had they received medical attention sooner.
