Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he's "livid" he was "misled" about police action taken during a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers and injured more than a dozen others in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday.
Abbott, on Wednesday, said a school resource officer engaged the gunman before he entered Robb Elementary School on Tuesday and that police soon after went into the school and killed the gunman. Abbott said at the time if not for the quick response of the officers, the mass shooting could have been a lot worse.
"The reason it was not worse is because law enforcement officials did what they do ... and it is a fact that because of their quick response, getting on the scene, being able to respond to the gunman and eliminate the gunman, they were able to save lives," Abbott said Wednesday.
On Thursday, new information released by DPS Regional Director Victor Escalon said the gunman was unchallenged outside of the school and that he was able to enter through an unlocked door. Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw said Friday that the door had been propped open by a teacher.
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UVALDE POLICE SHOOTING
McCraw shared a detailed timeline of the attack Friday morning and said at 11:35 a.m., two officers entered the school two minutes after the gunman. By 12:03 p.m., McCraw said there were 19 officers outside a classroom where the gunman was contained and that the scene commander believed because of the number of rounds that had been fired there were no other students alive in the classroom. The calls to 911 continued, however, and at 12:16 p.m. a caller said there were as many as nine children still alive. Five minutes later, three more gunshots were heard in a 911 call. Another 30 minutes would pass before officers were able to breach the door at 12:50 p.m. McCraw said Friday that the decision not to breach the door immediately was "the wrong decision."
The governor said Friday that in Wednesday's news conference he was repeating what he had been told during a briefing with law enforcement and other officials.
Short answer, yes, I was misled. I am livid about what happened. When I came out here on this stage and told the public what happened it was a recitation of what people in that room told me ... as everybody has learned, the information that I was given turned out, in part, to be inaccurate and I'm absolutely livid about that.
Gov. Greg Abbott
Abbott said exactly what happened needs to be “thoroughly, exhaustively” investigated for both the public and the families of the victims.
UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING
ABBOTT CONFRONTED AGAIN DURING BRIEFING
During his last public briefing, Abbott was confronted by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke who challenged the governor for his stance on gun safety and gun control.
On Friday, Abbott's briefing was interrupted again, this time by State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-District 19), whose district includes Uvalde.
Gutierrez asked the governor to call the state legislature back into session so they could begin working on legislation to prevent future mass shootings.
"My colleagues are asking for a special session, you're getting a letter tomorrow. We've asked for gun control changes, I'm asking you now to bring us back … I apologize for interrupting your press conference about the needs of this community … I don't know how to express the loss of the families that I've talked to, I know you feel it too, we have to do something. Your own colleagues are telling me, calling me and telling me, an 18-year-old shouldn't have a gun. This is enough, call us back. Just call us back," Gutierrez said.
UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING
WILL LAWS CHANGE IN TEXAS AS A RESULT OF THE SHOOTING?
Abbott said Friday that he does expect legislation to be enacted as a result of the massacre.
That legislation is unlikely to be directly related to gun control, however, and more likely will be related to mental health care. Abbott said Friday none of the new gun laws enacted during the most recent legislative session had any relevance when it came to the massacre or how the gunman was able to access his weapons.
Abbott was to appear at the NRA Convention in Houston Friday afternoon but canceled his appearance to be in Uvalde. Abbott, instead, sent a video message to run in place of his personal appearance.
NBC News' Garrett Haake said in the taped address Abbott argued against new gun laws by saying the gunman in Uvalde committed a felony "before he even pulled the trigger" by bringing a gun onto a school campus.
Abbott was to appear at the convention with former President Donald Trump, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX 2nd District).
After the massacre, Cruz is the only elected Texas leader who chose to speak at the convention.
