DThree months after the devastating shooting spree at an elementary school in the US state of Texas, there are personnel consequences due to the serious omissions in the police operation. The responsible body of the Uvalde school district decided on Wednesday evening to fire the school district’s police chief, as the broadcaster CNN and other US media reported unanimously.
An 18-year-old gunman shot dead 19 children and two teachers at the primary school in the small town of Uvalde at the end of May. The attacker shot his victims in two connected classrooms with an assault rifle.
In addition to the act itself, dramatic omissions in the police operation also caused bewilderment: Accordingly, 19 police officers had already taken up a position in the hallway in front of the classroom in which the gunman had holed himself up with teachers and students. However, the officers made no attempts to enter the room and stop the perpetrator for more than 45 minutes. Instead, they waited for reinforcements, although children from inside the room made numerous frantic calls to the police for help. More than 75 minutes after the shooter opened fire, emergency services entered the classroom and killed the gunman.
Several relatives accused the police that they could have saved lives if they had not waited so long. In particular, the school district police chief came under pressure because he was on the scene early on and, according to his critics, responsible for coordinating the operation.