© CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty ImagesFlowers are placed on a makeshift memorial in front of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 25, 2022.
Uvalde officials presented the Texas Department of Public Safety with a document labeled "narrative" during a
closed-door meeting days after the May 24 shooting.
According to the The New York Times, the document put together a timeline of events from interviews with police officers who responded to the May 24 Robb Elementary shooting, which resulted in the deaths
of 19 fourth-graders and 2 teachers. "There was zero hesitation on any of these officers' part, they moved directly toward the gunfire," the document said, according to the
Times.
Another section of the document called the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police force and Uvalde Police Department officers "heroes."
"The total number of persons saved by the heroes that are local law enforcement and the other assisting agencies is
over 500 per U.C.I.S.D.," the document said, according to the
Times. "
But for U.P.D. and U.C.I.S.D. being on scene IMMEDIATELY, that shooter would have had free range on the school."
The document says Uvalde police delayed in responding to the gunman โ who barricaded himself in two connected classrooms โ because they did not have shields and "breaching the door was suicide."On Tuesday, the
Austin American-Statesman released footage of police inside the school.
The video shows police had shields and tactical gear earlier than suggested by officials.The document also
did not mention that police did not have access to the correct keys to open the classrooms. Police Chief Pete Arredondo cited the lack of keys as being the reason the response was delayed.
It also said the police response was "not wasted but each minute was used to save lives of children and teachers," the
Times reported.
According to a source who spoke with the
Times, attendees at the meeting included Governor Greg Abbott's chief of staff and general counsel, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, County Judge Bill Mitchell, District Attorney Christina Busbee, state police officials, and the city attorney.
According to the
Times, the city attorney,
who was not identified by name, presented the document.
The officials pushed the document across the table to Steven McCraw, director of the Texas DPS, during the meeting at city hall and asked him to endorse it.
They wanted McCraw to present the findings in a press conference.After McCraw said he did not agree with the findings, the officials became irritated, the
Times reported.
Busbee also disagreed with the release of the "narrative" document, she told the
Times.
An investigative report of the police response to the Robb Elementary Shooting will be released Sunday, State Rep. Dustin Burrows, the chair of the special Texas House committee investigating the shooting,
tweeted on Wednesday.
The Texas DPS, Busbee, McLaughlin, and representatives for Abbott did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The "official" narrative seems to be at odds with witnesses. Hmmm.....