Uvalde school shooter fired at least 6 times after police arrived, was in classroom for 77 minutes

Despite gunfire and 911 call alerting 8 or 9 people were alive, officers waited to enter Robb Elementary School classroom

ByLucien Bruggeman ABCNews logo
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Biden, First Lady to travel to Uvalde, meet with families of victims
President Joe Biden and the First Lady will travel to Uvalde, TX to meet with the families of school shooting victims, survivors and first responders.

UVALDE, Texas -- Alleged school shooter Salvador Ramos was in the classroom for 77 minutes before officers entered and killed him, ABC News reported.



During that time, he discharged 315 rounds of ammunition, with hundreds of those rounds fired within the first four minutes of his arrival, authorities said.



SEE ALSO | 'Is it worth my kid?' Parents of 4th-grade victim in Uvalde school shooting beg lawmakers for change



After the initial barrage, the police commander on the scene mistakenly believed the shooter was barricaded and it was no longer an active shooter incident, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told reporters in an update Friday. But as officers gathered outside the classroom, the gunman kept shooting on at least six occasions, the new details show.



At 11:35 a.m., as the first three officers entered the building and approached classrooms 111 and 112, the suspect fired into the hallway through a closed door, where two officers sustained "grazing wounds," McCraw said.



He fired an additional 16 rounds two minutes later -- at 11:37 a.m. -- and again at 11:38 a.m., 11:40 a.m. and 11:44 a.m., according to McCraw, who did not specify whether the additional discharges were directed at officers in the hallway or at those inside the classrooms.



At 12:21 p.m., with as many as 19 officers then gathered outside the classroom, the suspect again fired at the closed door, forcing officers to "move down the hallway," McCraw said.



RELATED | Alvarez family brings comfort to Uvalde children, parents in honor of Arlene



Despite those additional spurts of gunfire - and a 911 call from inside one of the classrooms alerting a dispatcher that eight or nine people remained alive -- officers did not enter the classroom and kill Ramos until 12:50 p.m., according to McCraw.



The police response to the shooting is now being investigated, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday.

Copyright © 2024 ABC News Internet Ventures.