Police – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Value

An exterior door at Robb Elementary Faculty did not lock when it was closed by a trainer shortly before a gunman used it to get inside and kill 19 students and two academics, leaving investigators looking out to find out why, state police stated Tuesday.

State police initially mentioned a teacher had propped the door open shortly before the shooter entered the college in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.

They have now determined that the instructor, who has not been recognized, propped the door open with a rock, however then eliminated the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, stated Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. But, Considine said, the door didn't lock.

“We did confirm she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that a lot and now investigators are looking into why it didn't lock,” Considine said.

Investigators confirmed the element by extra video footage reviewed since last Friday’s news convention when authorities first said that the door had been left propped open. Authorities did not state at that time what had been used to prop open the door.

Considine mentioned the teacher initially propped the door open but ran back inside to get her phone and call 911 when the gunman crashed his truck on campus.

“She got here again out while on her telephone, she heard someone yell, ‘He has a gun!’, she noticed him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside,” eradicating the rock when she did, Considine stated.

San Antonio legal professional Don Flanary informed the San Antonio Categorical-Information that the Robb Elementary College worker, whom he’s not naming, closed the door shut after realizing that a gunman was on the free. She had initially propped it open to carry food from a automobile to a classroom, the lawyer mentioned.

“She kicked the rock away when she went again in. She remembers pulling the door closed whereas telling 911 that he was taking pictures,” Flanary instructed the newspaper.

Funerals are planned for the subsequent two-and-a-half weeks for the 19 youngsters and two teachers who have been killed in that classroom on Could 24.

“She thought the door would lock as a result of that door is at all times purported to be locked,” Flanary mentioned.

Flanary did not instantly return phone messages left at his workplace from The Associated Press.

Investigators are additionally nonetheless making an attempt to interview Uvalde Consolidated Independent Faculty District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who state police have stated was the commander of the college taking pictures scene while it occurred.

Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Security, has mentioned Arredondo handled the active scene as a hostage state of affairs and as if children were no longer at risk, whereas 19 cops waited within the school hallway outdoors the classroom where the shooter was.

McCraw known as that the “incorrect decision,” saying the main focus of the investigation has shifted to Arredondo and the police response.

Different officers within the Uvalde metropolis and faculties police departments proceed to take a seat for interviews and supply statements, however Arredondo has not responded to DPS requests for two days, Considine mentioned.