UVALDE, Texas — A devastating Ministry of Justice report published earlier this year into the failure of law enforcement during the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, includes a minute-by-minute account of police missteps on site.
Heavily armed officers didn’t kill the 18-year-old gunman until about 77 minutes after the first officers arrived at the school. By that time, terrified students in classrooms were calling 911 and parents were begging officers to enter. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the May 24, 2022, massacre in the rural South Texas town.
Earlier research by Texas lawmakers also revealed a timeline of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
Here is the Justice Department’s reconstruction of the shooting, which is similar to timelines previously provided by authorities:
11:21 a.m. — The gunman, Salvador Ramos, shoots and wounds his grandmother in their home. He then texts an acquaintance, telling them what he’s done and that he plans to “shoot up an elementary school.”
11:28 a.m. — The shooter crashes a vehicle he stole from his grandparents’ house into a ditch about 100 yards from Robb Elementary School.
11:33 a.m. — He enters the school through a locked but unlocked door, walks to classrooms 111 and 112, and opens fire on their doors from the hallway. The two classrooms are connected by an interior door.
11:36 — The first officers to respond enter the school. The shooter is now shooting into the two classrooms of group four. Two officers who run to the classrooms are hit by shrapnel and retreat.
11:38 a.m. — The first request to activate Uvalde’s SWAT team is made over the radio.
11:39 a.m. — A city police officer makes the first official request for shields. Officers in the hallway begin treating the shooter as a barricaded subject rather than an active shooter.
11:40 to 12:21 — More officers from multiple law enforcement agencies arrive. During these 41 minutes, the report says, “there is a lot of confusion, miscommunication, a lack of urgency, and a lack of incident command.”
12:21 p.m. — The shooter fires four more shots into the classrooms. At this point, officers position themselves outside the classroom doors, but do not enter. Officers then test keys on another door as they search for additional keys and entry tools.
12:48 p.m. — Officers open the door to Room 111, which was apparently unlocked. A minute or more passes before the officers enter the room and tackle the shooter.
12:50 p.m. — The shooter is fatally shot by officers after emerging from a closet while opening fire.