(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Law enforcement in Uvalde, Texas, have revealed that they delayed their entry due to a lack of tactical gear, after coming under growing scrutiny and criticism for their seeming slow response to the mass shooting.
Officers who were on the premises of Robb Elementary School at the time of the deadly shooting did not have a ballistic shield which would have been necessary to breach the door of the locked classroom where the shooter and his victims were located, Breitbart reported.
According to the Border Patrol source, who requested to remain anonymous as he was not allowed to address the media, attempting to enter without the shield would have resulted in the death of the officers.
The death of any officers may have resulted in the use of police communication tools by the shooter, giving him an advantage over law enforcement.
“If the subject can effectively take out an officer, he gains one more weapon, more loaded magazines, and law enforcement communications are instantly compromised allowing the suspect to know what the next plan of attack is,” the source explained.
The source, who has decades of experience on the Border Patrol’s BORTAC team, told Breitbart that a barricaded attacker is an extremely difficult tactical situation to resolve.
The attack was likely planned days or weeks in advance, possibly before the purchase of the shooter’s weaponry and ammunition.
Once a shield was located, the police proceeded to enter the building and reach the barricaded shooter. Many officers still sustained gunshot wounds even with the shield.
It is reported that the department did not have the shield and is missing lots of other equipment due to funding issues.
The source also stated that one officer, who was poised at the window of the classroom, lost his child in the attack.
“Our officers had their own children in the building—one of whom was killed,” the official stated.
“We wanted to end this as badly as anyone else. To think that we would stand around and let children die by choice is unconscionable for our officers right now during their time of mourning.”
