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ABC news has posted audio of a police dispatcher telling officers at the scene in Uvalde that a child on the line reports being in a “room full of victims.”
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The audio is part of a video ABC News posted to Twitter and includes footage of police in action at Robb Elementary School at the time of the mass shooting.
There are scenes of officers helping children escape through a window.
The dispatcher in the recording can be heard speaking:
“Warn, we do have a child on the line. Room 12. Are we able to — is anybody inside of the building at this —?
“Child is advising he is in the room, full of victims,” the dispatcher continued, then repeating, “Full of victims at this moment.”
Children hiding in that classroom made a series of 911 calls throughout the order, according to tI have New York Post, saying they were barricaded inside with the shooter; one child begged the dispatcher to “send police now.”
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The calls continued almost until the moment authorities finally entered the room and killed the gunman.
The May 24 killing spree resulted in the deaths of 19 children and two teachers; 17 others were injured and the husband of one of the dead teachers consequently died of a heart attack.
The School District Police—a special force put together state-wide as Texas’ response to school shootings—are being criticized for waiting to rush the shooter.
Authorities allegedly waited outside and in the school hallway; some 77 minutes passed before border guards unlocked a classroom door and shot dead gunman Salvador Ramos, 18.
The Chief of the School District Police, Pete Arredondo, is said to have mistakenly thought the scene changed from active shooter to a barricade situation.
The Department of Justice is investigating the overall response.