School massacre in Texas: US police only killed the assassin after about an hour

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Mourners in front of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde

Photo: VERONICA CARDENAS / REUTERS

According to official sources, the Uvalde gunman spent around an hour in the classroom where he caused a bloodbath.

Only then did reinforcements arrive and kill the gunman, said Victor Escalon of the Texas Department of Public Safety at a press conference on Thursday.

The 18-year-old attacker Salvador Ramos entered the school in the municipality of Uvalde around 11.40 a.m. (local time) on Tuesday and finally entered a classroom near the entrance.

Security forces were on site, but initially did not go into the classroom because they had been shot at.

No special equipment, school unlocked

The police then called for reinforcements, Escalon said.

They lacked special equipment.

They evacuated school children and teachers and tried to negotiate with the shooter.

He fired most of the shots at the very beginning.

"There wasn't much shooting during the negotiations, other than trying to keep the cops at bay," Escalon said.

It was also revealed that school had not been completed.

The police had already been called when witnesses saw the armed shooter in front of the school.

Recently there had been loud criticism from parents of the actions of the emergency services.

They accuse the police of being idle for too long.

This is coming under more and more pressure to justify itself.

It was a "complex situation," Escalon said.

He asked for more time to analyze the events in more detail.

The shooter massacred a classroom on Tuesday, killing 19 schoolchildren and two primary school teachers.

Biden travels to Texas on Sunday

US President Joe Biden plans to travel to the affected community on Sunday.

The White House announced on Thursday that he would be accompanied by his wife Jill.

There were no further details at first.

Shortly after the crime, Biden addressed the people of the country and demanded stricter gun laws in clear terms.

The worst US school shooting in a decade has sparked outrage across the country and sparked renewed debate over the country's lax gun laws.

ngo/dpa