Newly released documents reveal shocking 911 calls and other police communications about the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting.
Calls from a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde, Texas, along with bodycam and surveillance footage, were released Saturday by city officials after a lengthy legal battle.
The May 24, 2022, massacre, which left 19 students and two teachers dead, was one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.
One of the survivors, Khloie Torres, pleaded for help in a series of 911 calls, whispering into the phone that there were “a lot” of bodies.
“Please, I don’t want to die. My teacher is dead. Oh, my God,” Torres said.
Newly released documents reveal chilling 911 calls and other police communications from the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting
One of the survivors, Khloie Torres (pictured), pleaded for help in a series of 911 calls, whispering into the phone that there were “a lot” of bodies
The dispatcher asks the 10-year-old girl if there are many people in the room.
“No, I’m just with a few friends. There are a lot of people gone,” she said, pausing for a moment.
Police came under heavy criticism following the massacre after it emerged that no one confronted the gunman until 77 minutes after he began his killing spree.
Just before 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos arrived at the school, he shot his grandmother dead at her home. He then took a pickup truck from the home and drove to the school.
Ramos’s distraught uncle called 911 several times, begging to be transferred so he could force his nephew to stop shooting.
“He listens to everything I tell him,” Armando Ramos said. “Maybe he can back out or do something to turn himself in,” he added, his voice cracking.
Just before 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos arrived at the school, he shot and killed his grandmother at her home
Ramos’s distraught uncle called 911 several times, begging to be transferred so he could stop his nephew from shooting.
He said his cousin, who had been with him the night before, had stayed in his bedroom all night and told him he was angry because his grandmother was “bothering” him.
“Oh my God, please, please, don’t do anything stupid,” the man on the phone said. “I think he’s shooting children.”
Ramos entered the school at 11:33 a.m. He first opened fire from the hallway and then entered two adjacent fourth-grade classrooms.
The first responding officers arrived at the school minutes later. They approached the classrooms but retreated when Ramos opened fire.
Uvalde School District Police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo was responsible for the massive police response that day, which saw at least 380 officers from several local, state and federal agencies respond to the school.
Arredondo and Officer Adrian Gonzales have been charged with child abuse in connection with the tragedy.
At 12:06 p.m., the majority of Uvalde Police Department radio traffic was still focused on establishing a perimeter around the school and directing traffic in the area, as well as the logistical side of keeping track of those who had safely evacuated the building.
They’ve had trouble setting up a command post, one officer tells his colleagues, “because we need the bodies to keep the parents out.”
At 12:16 p.m., someone from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the state law enforcement agency, called police to report that a SWAT team was en route from Austin, about 160 miles (260 kilometers) away.
“Do you have a command post? Or where do our officers need to go?” the caller asked.
The police spokesperson replied that the officers were aware that there were several dead pupils in the primary school and that others were still hiding.
Some of the released 911 calls were from terrified instructors. One described “lots and lots of gunshots,” while another sobbed into the phone as a dispatcher urged her to stay still. “Quick, quick, quick, quick!” the first instructor shouted before hanging up.