Uvalde police response to shooting 'embarrassing', former DC homicide detective says
Critics wonder how many young lives possibly could have been saved in Uvalde, Texas school massacre
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As officials reveal new details about the timeline of law enforcement's response to the Uvalde school shooting, former District of Columbia Metropolitan Police homicide detective Ted Williams said the idea officers were told to wait before entering the school was an embarrassment.
"This case is just unspeakable," he said on "The Story." "These children, these 19 angels and two teachers were being slaughtered, while 19 police officers at 1203 hours are out there in the hallway saying that this is a barricade situation."
Williams cited several trapped students' 911 calls as evidence the police should have made entry sooner and understood it was not a barricade situation but that Salvador Ramos was still an active shooter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LIVE UPDATES: UVALDE TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING
A mourner places her hand on a memorial for a victim of Tuesday's mass shooting at an elementary school, in City of Uvalde Town Square in Uvalde, Texas. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
"You would have anticipated that someone would have overruled that commander and went and made a breach of that door and tried to save lives," he said. "And so the question that begged for an answer is how many lives could very well have been saved if the right decision was made? Well, we've been told by [Texas DPS] Col. Steve McCraw the wrong decision was made."
Williams said officials' behavior was "an embarrassment" while children were 'crying for help."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"And you've got law enforcement officers standing out, waiting for a barricade situation and waiting for a SWAT team."
UVALDE MAYOR CONDEMNS BETO O'ROURKE'S OUTBURST
Uvalde, Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos. His mother, Adriana Reyes, was looking for him when she returned to the city Tuesday night after seeing her mother in a hospital, whom he allegedly shot before going on a rampage at an elementary school. (Uvalde Police Department)
Williams added that possibly because of the delay in law enforcement action, one student smeared a deceased classmate's blood on herself to trick Ramos into believing she was already dead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier, Ramos' mother, Adriana Reyes, gave an interview to a Mexican news channel.
"I have no words to say. I don’t know what he was thinking," Reyes said in Spanish.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He had his reasons for doing what he did. Please don’t judge him. I only want the innocent children who died to forgive me."