Report: Texas Cop Missed Chance To Shoot Gunman At Uvalde Elementary School

A Uvalde police officer armed with a rifle requested to shoot the gunman who committed the mass shooting outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, before the gunman entered the elementary school, a report revealed on Wednesday.

Some of the 21 victims killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School, including 19 children, likely “could have been saved,” according to the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT).

The 26-page report reveals that “Prior to the suspect’s entry into the building at 11:33:00, according to statements, a Uvalde Police Officer on scene at the crash site observed the suspect carrying a rifle outside the west hall entry. The officer, armed with a rifle, asked his supervisor for permission to shoot the suspect. However, the supervisor either did not hear or responded too late. The officer turned to get confirmation from his supervisor and when he turned back to address the suspect, he had entered the west hallway unabated.”

The report additionally notes that the officer would have been justified in using deadly force to stop the gunman without the supervisor’s confirmation.

“The officer was justified in using deadly force to stop the attacker. Texas Penal Code § 9.32, DEADLY FORCE IN DEFENSE OF PERSON states, an individual is justified in using deadly force when the individual reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary to prevent the commission of murder (amongst other crimes),” the report states. “In this instance, the UPD officer would have heard gunshots and/or reports of gunshots and observed an individual approaching the school building armed with a rifle. A reasonable officer would conclude in this case, based upon the totality of the circumstances, that use of deadly force was warranted.”

“Furthermore, the UPD officer was approximately 148 yards from the west hall exterior door,” it continues. “One-hundred and forty-eight yards is well within the effective range of an AR-15 platform. The officer did comment that he was concerned that if he missed his shot, the rounds could have penetrated the school and injured students. We also note that current State of Texas standards for patrol rifle qualifications do not require officers to fire their rifles from more than 100 yards away from the target. It is, therefore, possible that the officer had never fired his rifle at a target that was that far away.”

“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,” the report notes.