A sickening delay: Parents begged police to enter school as Uvalde shooting dragged on

One of the biggest pieces missing in the massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde was what took police so long to neutralize the shooter, given that reports initially showed there was a police officer stationed at the school and several other law enforcement officials nearby.

We now have at least part of what’s missing, and it’s egregious. The Associated Press reports: “Frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the Texas elementary school where a gunman’s rampage killed 19 children and two teachers, witnesses said Wednesday.”

Law enforcement at the scene waited 40 minutes to organize a tactical team to charge the school. Conflicting reports show some officers claiming they needed help to unlock the school door, even though the gunman himself walked right in the school.

In this video, you can see law enforcement making a human barricade as family members wail, scream and hurl profanities as the gunman is inside the school, murdering fourth-graders. State officials said Thursday that officers had taken fire and had to fall back, but the delay was intolerable.

This is stunningly reminiscent of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in 2018, in which law enforcement also demonstrated a stunning lack of expediency or efficacy when confronted with an active shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. When the Broward County Sheriff’s Department received the 911 call, members of law enforcement simply did not act quickly.

“Seven Broward deputies, including the school resource officer, heard shots, but none ran into the school to confront and kill the shooter,” The Sun-Sentinel reported then. One of those was Broward Deputy Josh Stambaugh. He arrived at the Parkland shooting and took a full minute to put his vest on, slowly, and deliberately. Shots can be heard from his body cam. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who led a review of the shooting and response, later scolded Stambaugh for his lack of urgency.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel was fired but is now the police chief of a small town in Florida.

The school resource officer on duty that day at Parkland was Scot Peterson. Surveillance footage showed that while the gunman was slaughtering 17 high schoolers and teachers, Peterson took cover outside one of the school buildings, where he stayed for about 40 minutes, frozen.

He also told officers via radio to stay at least 500 feet from the building, another tactic which slowed response. Despite being the only armed “good guy” at Stoneman High that day, Peterson never entered the building while the gunman was actively shooting.

Freezing in place might be a natural response during a dramatically unfolding event such as active gunfire in a school. However, law enforcement should be trained and adequately equipped to respond to just such emergencies — specially the officers specifically hired to protect schools.

In 2019, Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled a detailed plan called “Improving School Safety in Texas.” In addition to describing just how many different approaches schools should take to be safe — including providing mental health evaluations for students at risk of hurting others, monitoring social media and providing active shooter training — the Legislature allotted $338 million for school safety. It’s time we analyze just where that money is going and how it’s being spent.

It is unacceptable for a bevy of police officers to wait nearly an hour outside a school while an 18-year-old ruthlessly murders children inside. The officers posted outside Robb Elementary either lacked the training, skill or courage needed when it counted most.

So far, we’ve learned little from previous shootings like Parkland. How many more will it take for us to find our resolve?

Editor’s note: This column has been updated to reflect state officials’ statements on the delay in confronting the shooter.