Nearly 400 law enforcement officers from myriad agencies went to the school after the killings started, but they were stymied by a lack of coordination, according to the report.
“In this crisis, no responder seized the initiative to establish an incident command post,” the committee wrote. “Despite an obvious atmosphere of chaos, the ranking officers of other responding agencies did not approach the Uvalde [school district] chief of police or anyone else perceived to be in command to point out the lack of and need for a command post, or to offer that specific assistance.”
It’s unclear how many lives a better law enforcement response would have saved, according to the report. The gunman fired around 100 rounds within minutes of entering the school. The report also faulted school employees for not locking doors in the building, saying they could have slowed the shooter’s progress if they had done so. “Had school personnel locked the doors as the school’s policy required, that could have slowed his progress for a few precious minutes – long enough to receive alerts, hide children, and lock doors,” the report said.
Throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, families trickled into Uvalde’s civic center, where they received an advance print copy of the committee’s report. Many wore shirts with the faces of the children they lost. Vincent Salazar wore a button with a photo of his 11-year-old granddaughter, Layla, who was killed at Robb elementary.
To stop a bad man with a gun all you need are 401 good men with guns.
No-one took charge, while shooter continued killing children.