Uvalde shooting hearing: Police response was 'abject failure'
A Texas state Senate committee heard testimony on the Uvalde shooting.
The Texas state Senate heard testimony Tuesday on the deadly school shooting in Uvalde as part of a committee hearing on preventing future mass shootings in Texas. Among those testifying was Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw, whose office is conducting one of multiple investigations into the law enforcement response to the massacre.
Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was the incident commander on site, was the lone witness in a separate hearing on the shooting held Tuesday in executive session by the Texas state House of Representatives.
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'We're trying to preserve life,' commander said on police radio
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw walked through an updated timeline of events from the Uvalde shooting and read aloud from a transcript of police radio communications.
The transcript describes Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo and other officers speculating on the status of those inside the classroom and painstakingly debating whether and how to breach the door.
Nearly an hour after the gunman entered the school, according to the transcript, an officer told Arredondo, "People are going to ask why we’re taking so long."
"We’re trying to preserve life," Arredondo replied, per the transcript.
McCraw says commander was 'only thing' holding back officers
Reviewing the timeline of the Uvalde shooting, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw, said that enough officers and equipment arrived on-site "within three minutes" of the gunman entering the school to "neutralize" him.
McCraw said the on-scene commander, Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo, was the "only thing stopping" officers from breaching the classroom.
Arredondo, McCraw said, "decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children."
McCraw calls Uvalde police response 'abject failure'
In his opening statement, Texas Director of Public Safety Steven McCraw said his department’s ongoing probe has uncovered "compelling evidence" to suggest that the police response "was an abject failure."
"Three minutes after the subject entered the west hallway, there was a sufficient number of armed officers wearing body armor, to isolate distract and neutralize the subject," McCraw said in reviewing the timeline of events. "The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander, who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children."
"The officers had weapons -- the children had none. The officers had body armor -- the children had none," he said.
"One hour, 14 minutes and eight seconds. That's how long the children waited and the teachers waited in rooms 111 to be rescued. And while they waited, the on-scene commander waited for radios and rifles. Then he waited for shields. Then he waited for SWAT. Lastly, he waited for key that was never needed," McCraw said.
Hearing gaveled in with moment of silence
Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Nichols, a Republican, gaveled the hearing to order shortly and immediately asked those present to observe a moment of silence for the lives lost in Uvalde.
Members of the panel then had an opportunity to make brief opening remarks, where lawmakers wasted little time criticizing law enforcement officials who presented shifting narratives about the Uvalde shooting in the ensuing days and weeks.
"I have never seen in my entire public policy career facts that change 180 degrees from one week to the next,” said Texas state Sen. Paul Bettencourt. “I hope today with the witnesses that we have, we can get nearer to the bottom of the facts because they've been elusive … we are all in the dark."