It is unknown whether or not the door to the classroom at Robb Elementary School was unlocked when the incident took place.
In preparation for a special Senate committee hearing on the mass shooting that took place at Robb Elementary School, personnel from the Texas Department of Public Safety moved a door from the crime scene into the Texas State Capitol. The session will focus on the tragedy that occurred there.
Some previously unknown facts concerning how the gunman was able to enter the building without being caught have surfaced as a consequence of a closer look into law enforcement’s response to the recent massacre at an elementary school. This has led to the discovery of some previously unknown data.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, the Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, Steven McCraw, stated that a teacher had pushed open the door, although he later emphasized that it was closed and unlocked. McCraw also stated that the door had been propped open by a student. In addition, McCraw indicated that the door had been shut, but it had not been locked.
Once the gunman was inside classes 111 and 112, according to what McCraw had previously indicated, he made one more trip down the corridor before returning to both classrooms and closing the doors once again.
According to McCraw’s report, more than a dozen officers pursued the shooter inside the building in the first three minutes after he entered, but the incident commander, Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo, decided to wait for tactical gear and a key to unlock the classroom door before confronting the gunman. This decision was made because Arredondo wanted to ensure that the door could be unlocked safely.
