Uvalde police had opportunity to ‘neutralize’ gunman before he entered school, according to report by law enforcement experts

Law enforcement officers speak together outside of Robb Elementary School following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images A Uvalde police officer had a chance to neutralize the gunman before he entered Robb Elementary School. A report from experts at Texas State University said the officer had a rifle trained on the suspect.

The report is based on video from the scene, radio logs, and testimony from officers and investigators. An officer with the Uvalde Police Department had his rifle trained on the suspected gunman before he entered Robb Elementary School but decided not to pull the trigger after failing to obtain approval from a supervisor, missing an opportunity to potentially “neutralize” the attacker before he killed 21 people, including 19 children, according to a report by law enforcement experts. Issued by Texas State University’s program for active-shooter training, the 26-page assessment states that an Uvalde police officer “observed the suspect carrying a rifle” prior to entering the school — and that the officer was “armed with a rifle and sighted in to shoot the attacker.

” The officer did not open fire, instead asking for permission from their supervisor. When they did not hear back, they turned to face their supervisor, according to the document. “When he turned back to address the suspect, the suspect had already entered the west hall exterior door,” the report states.

The Uvalde Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the new report — based on video from the scene, radio logs, and testimony from first responders and investigators — the officer did not need permission to open fire under state law. Indeed, “A reasonable officer would conclude in this case, based upon the totality of the circumstances, that use of deadly force was warranted,” it states.

But the report suggests the officer was concerned they might miss their target and that “the rounds could have penetrated the school and injured students. ” And the report suggests that fear might have been justified, as the officer was 148 yards from the door the suspect used to enter the building and Texas currently does not require officers to train with their rifle beyond a distance of 100 yards. “It is, therefore, possible that the officer had never fired his rifle at a target that was that far away,” the report states.

Ultimately, the decision to use deadly force always lies with the officer who will use the force. If the officer was not confident that he could both hit his target and of his backdrop if he missed, he should not have fired. “That an Uvalde police officer failed to open fire on the suspect before he entered the school was first reported in June by The New York Times, citing Zavala County Chief Deputy Sheriff Ricardo Rios, who told the publication that two officers, one with an AR-15 style rifle, had spotted the gunman and taken cover behind their patrol car.

“I asked him, ‘Why didn’t you shoot? Why didn’t you engage?’ And that’s when he told me about the background,” Rios told the paper. “According to the officers, they didn’t engage back because in the background there was kids playing and they were scared of hitting the kids. “While much attention has been focused on law enforcement’s failure to immediately confront the suspect after he entered the school, the report identifies “three key issues” before then that allowed the massacre to take place.

Among them, it says, was that the gunman was able to enter the school through a door that was not secured and that an officer with the school district police force was driving too fast to spot the suspect in the parking lot. Lastly, the report states, was the failure to open fire. Had the officer “engaged the suspect with his rifle, he may have been able to neutralize, or at least distract, the suspect,” the report states, “preventing him from entering the building.

“Read the original article on Insider.