Texas school shooting: Officials say gunman entered through unlocked door, investigation continues

Officials in Texas gave an update on what happened Tuesday when a gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School, leaving 19 small children and two adults dead.

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Victor Escalon, the South Texas Regional Director of the Department of Public Safety, said the investigation continues into what exactly happened. He explained the timeline, as it stands now, of what happened and when it happened.

Escalon confirmed that the gunman entered the school through an unlocked door at the school.

Escalon said that at 11:28 a.m. local time, police received the first report of a truck that had crashed. The gunman had driven off after police said he shot his grandmother, who is now listed in stable condition.

>>Read: Uvalde shooter’s grandmother is continuing to recover at a Texas hospital

The shooter then jumped out of the passenger side of the truck, with a rifle and a bag that was later to be found with ammunition. The shooter saw two people at a nearby funeral home and Escalon said the gunman fired shots toward them before jumping a fence at the school, went across a parking lot and then at 11:40 a.m., walked into the elementary school through an unlocked door.

Escalon said a video was obtained from inside and outside of the school that showed multiple rounds being fired inside the school. Officials do not have an exact number.

>>Read: Texas elementary school shooting: What we know now

Four minutes after the shooter went into the school, the police arrived, made entry into the building, and after hearing gunfire, retreated and took cover.

Escalon clarified an earlier statement made by the Department of Public Safety, saying that the gunman was not confronted by anyone, despite previous reports that a school safety officer had “encountered” the gunman. He said there was no officer readily available on the campus when the gunman first arrived at the school.

>>Read: Texas school shooting: Bystanders shouted at police to enter Robb Elementary

The gunman walked into a classroom after going down a couple of hallways.

While the gunman was in the classroom, officers were asking for help and were trying to get equipment and tactical teams to the scene.

While they were waiting for teams to arrive and making a plan to enter the building, officials were also negotiating with the gunman, Escalon said.

About an hour later, a tactical team from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol arrived. They shot and killed the gunman. A Uvalde police officer and a sheriff’s deputy were also there.

After the gunman was down, officers went into rescue operations to get students and teachers out of the building.

Escalon said the officers who were at the scene are being interviewed and the investigation continues. He will provide additional updates when more information becomes available.

After the update, Ross McGlothlin, a former principal of Robb Elementary School told CNN that the door would typically have been locked. He said there were school resource officers in the district when he worked for the district, but they weren’t assigned.

He said there was a system that would alert teachers in case of an emergency that would direct them to go into a lockdown.

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