New evidence suggests Uvalde police did get at least some information about 911 calls from children

At this point we all know the story. Police followed the Uvalde shooter into the school but after a brief shootout, the local police chief (wrongly) decided he was a barricaded suspect and there was no pressing need to enter the room. Meanwhile, children inside the room were calling 911 multiple times. Texas DPS outlined those calls including one (at 12:10 pm) in which the caller said there were multiple victims. There was a subsequent call (at 12:16 pm) in which the same caller said there were 8-9 kids still alive in the room.

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The main question people have struggled with is why didn’t the police breach the room, especially knowing there were still kids alive inside. It seems unthinkable that 19 officers were stacked up in the hallway but decided to do nothing, contrary to all of their training for dealing with active shooters. In fact, it’s so wrong that some have wondered if maybe the information from the 911 calls wasn’t making it back to the officers on the scene.

Last Friday, a local station in Austin interviewed a former 911 dispatcher who said she suspected there had been a breakdown in communication.

Again, that was last Friday and at the time it wasn’t clear if officers had received the information coming in from 911. But over the weekend CNN reported and ABC News reported they had audio which appeared to show those 911 calls being relayed to officers at the scene. Today, ABC reports the audio is part of a video recording taken outside the school.

Video obtained by ABC News, taken outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, as last week’s massacre was unfolding inside, appears to capture a 911 dispatcher alerting officers on scene that they were receiving calls from children who were alive inside the classroom that the gunman had entered — as law enforcement continued to wait nearly an hour and a half to enter the room.

“Child is advising he is in the room, full of victims,” the dispatcher can be heard saying in the video. “Full of victims at this moment.”

“Is anybody inside of the building at this…?” the dispatcher asked.

Minutes later, the dispatcher says again: “Eight to nine children.”

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That reference to 8-9 children seems to match up with the 12:16 pm call.

So that seems to close the loop. Information on the 911 calls was making it back to the scene. Today, CNN is reporting on one more piece of video in which a child can be heard saying “I got shot.” It’s not clear when this happened or who the child is. This was allegedly broadcast over the radio and recorded on a Facebook live stream.

Police Chief Peter Arredondo who apparently made the decision not to breach the classroom was elected as a city councilor in Uvalde earlier this month. His elevation to that new position was supposed to take place today but the meeting was cancelled because funerals for some of the children killed in the attack are taking place today. It’s hard to see how anyone in that town could want Arredondo in any position of authority after this.

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