cops outside school shooting
The White House refused to call for an investigation into the police response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, saying President Joe Biden "has the utmost respect for the men and women of law enforcement."

Police have been criticized for their slow response to the massacre, with parents reportedly attempting to enter the school themselves before a Border Patrol team finally rushed in.

"I know that right now, authorities are working to piece together more details of what happened in Uvalde, so we won't prejudge the result from here at this time," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered a reporter. "It is always a good idea to look back and try to find any lessons we can learn, especially from tragedies like this, so that we can prevent them moving forward, including the law enforcement response."

Police stood by for upward of 40 minutes after a gunman stormed into Robb Elementary School and killed 19 children and two teachers in a classroom, according to a report. The gunman stormed the building around 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to a report.

Investigators are piecing together what happened over the course of the massacre, which ended with the Border Patrol team rushing in and killing the 18-year-old shooter. Witnesses cited by theAssociated Press recalled shouting at police to enter the building to save the people inside. One even proposed having bystanders do the job that officers apparently refused to do as they stood outside.

A group of adults began yelling at officers just before noon to let them inside if the police refused to enter the school and arrest the suspected shooter, according to a Facebook video recorded by a witness and verified by the Washington Post.

In sidestepping the question of whether the Biden administration would call for an investigation into the police response, Jean-Pierre stressed Biden's support for law enforcement.

"The president has the utmost respect, as you all know, for the men and women of law enforcement," she said. "Just days ago, he honored the memory of the former police officer Aaron Salter in Buffalo, who was killed bravely while trying to stop the shooter at the supermarket."