(Uvalde) — A new report says the first officers that arrived at the scene of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting last year didn’t engage the gunman because of the weapon he was using.
According to the Texas Tribune, the officers told investigators they had “no choice” but to wait for backup after finding out the 18-year-old shooter was using an AR-15.
A Texas House committee report on the shooting said more than 300 law enforcement officers were at the school while the gunman was in the classroom. However, nobody confronted him until a Border Patrol SWAT team arrived more than an hour after the first shots were fired. The wait reportedly delayed medical care for more than two dozen victims, including three that died after the shooting ended.
In all, 19 elementary school students were killed, along with two teachers at the campus.