News/Commentary

Texas Lieutenant says cops were reluctant to engage school gunman because ‘they could’ve been shot’

May 27, 2022 | | Print Article

(Video Credit: CNN)

Uvalde police are being excoriated by both liberal and conservative media who are demanding answers over why it took them so long to take the gunman down at Robb Elementary School and why the facts of the story seem to keep changing.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez told CNN host Wolf Blitzer on Thursday on “The Situation Room” that officers were reluctant to confront the gunman without backup because “they could’ve been shot.” It reportedly took them more than an hour to neutralize the threat and during that time, 19 children and two teachers were murdered.

Uvalde police were grilled during a press conference on Thursday and reporters wanted answers concerning why the timeline of events and the facts keep shifting. This followed some parents with children in the school claiming they were stopped from going in to get their kids by officers.

One little girl reportedly bled for an hour after being shot according to MSNBC. She later died at a hospital and it isn’t known whether she would have survived or not if police had gotten to her sooner.

(Video Credit: MSNBC)

Blitzer asked Olivarez if the police made the right decision to wait for backup before they confronted the shooter.

Olivarez pointed out that officers were inside the building quickly and immediately heard gunfire taking place. They then called for reinforcements and waited for a Border Patrol tactical team. Meanwhile, they allegedly isolated the gunman in one classroom.

“Don’t current best practices, don’t they call for officers to disable a shooter as quickly as possible, regardless of how many officers are actually on-site?” Blitzer asked.

Olivarez explained that if the police had rushed to take out the gunman before backup arrived, they could have been shot and killed.

“The active shooter situation, you want to stop the killing, you want to preserve life, but also one thing that – of course, the American people need to understand — that officers are making entry into this building. They do not know where the gunman is. They are hearing gunshots,” he noted.

“They are receiving gunshots. At that point, if they proceeded any further not knowing where the suspect was at, they could’ve been shot, they could’ve been killed, and that gunman would have had an opportunity to kill other people inside that school,” Olivarez stated.

CNN was not the only outlet to question the actions of the police and what happened during the shooting. Fox News host Tucker Carlson also tore into the police over statements they made concerning the horrific incident.

“It seems apparent that when that video was shot, the gunman was still alive with the firearm in the school with children in the school. Now, a Texas official later suggested on camera that while all of this was happening, some members of law enforcement in Texas went into the school to get their own children out. Is that true? If it is true, it’s a moral crime, at the very least,” he said.

(Video Credit: Fox News | Tucker Carlson Tonight)

“In the meantime, we know that police were forcibly keeping parents away from the building. At one point, an officer held a Taser at his side,” Carlson charged.

“So the point is not to point fingers or blame people. Nobody wants a school shooting. Everyone’s heart is broken by it, but the authorities are not allowed to lie to us in the aftermath of an event like this and our federal officials are not allowed to take an event like this, ignore the facts, and then use it to take our constitutional rights away,” Carlson continued.

“So, what are the facts? Well, here’s the news story from Texas DPS. At 11:28 a.m., the shooter crashed his truck outside. He then pulled a gun and began shooting indiscriminately at two people at a funeral home. That confirms what the witness, Carranza, said. He also shot at the school building,” he recounted, digging into the timeline of the shooting.

“During that time, as you’d expect, people were calling the police. 12 minutes later, at 11:40 a.m., the shooter went inside the building. How did that happen? Then 4 minutes after that, the police finally went inside the building. So, in all, there was a 16-minute gap until the police showed up and responded. So why did that take so long? That is a fair question. In fact, it’s a critical question. Even at the Parkland School shooting, when police staged outside, students were being murdered, police wound up inside the building 11 minutes after the shooter, but in this case, it was 16 minutes. Why was that? We have a right to know, but today, police wouldn’t say,” Carlson remarked.

(Video Credit: Fox News | Tucker Carlson Tonight)

“So the second the shooting starts anywhere, at any time, things get very confusing. They used to call it the fog of war. It’s entirely real. It’s hard to figure out exactly what happened when people start getting killed. But on the big questions, it’s very obvious immediately. Was there a school resource officer who exchanged fire with the gunman?” he asked.

“That’s not something you would imagine. That either happened or it didn’t and you would know right away if it happened or it didn’t. It didn’t happen, but they said it did happen. That’s a lie. Why did they lie? Police did say that officers went inside the school for 4 minutes after the suspect, but then they were treated outside the school and then police did not reenter the school for another hour. During that time, they say they were waiting for backup, including for some reason for multiple crisis negotiators,” the Fox News host commented.

“Now, no matter how pro-law enforcement you are – and we are – there’s only so much B.S. you can take in the face of a tragedy like this. ‘We’re waiting for specialized equipment?’ You have an 18-year-old with a firearm and little kids being killed. What kind of specialty equipment do you need? Negotiators, really? As children are being murdered? One 11-year-old child says she smeared herself with a friend’s blood to convince the gunman she had already been shot to death,” he said.

“Another fourth-grader who survived the shooting said that police told kids inside to call out for help while the shooter was still shooting. Then the gunman killed a student who followed police instructions and called out for help. So, if you’re wondering why police waited an hour for negotiators to talk to a gunman who’s indiscriminately murdering children, you’re not the only one. They were asked about this at the briefing today. Was the door really barricaded or was it just locked? Police wouldn’t respond to a simple question like that,” Carlson stated.

“So, two days after this massacre, authorities are slowly admitting that everything they told us was, in fact, untrue. There was no school resource officer. They’re not even sure how the door was barricaded. These matter, these questions. If you wanted to stop mass shootings in the future, figuring out how this happened would be the place to start, but of course, there’s nothing in Joe Biden’s latest executive order on policing in the memory of Saint George Floyd that addresses anything related to the shooting. And nothing under consideration for Mitch McConnell who tells you he cares about the facts above all will do anything to punish police officers who hide… children die because the point of this is not to protect children,” he continued.

“These ghouls drawing politically convenient conclusions, accusing people who have no connection whatsoever to this massacre, of murder, all on the basis of no evidence, and then when the evidence emerges and it doesn’t comport with the politically convenient story they want to tell, they simply ignore it,” Carlson added.

“But the rest of us should not ignore it. We should not avert our gaze. We should demand the truth. We should demand to know what happened. The children who are murdered deserve at least that,” he concluded.

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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28 thoughts on “Texas Lieutenant says cops were reluctant to engage school gunman because ‘they could’ve been shot’”

  1. Conspiracy theorists will have a field day with this. Are all the higher ups in this police force Democrats?

  3. To be honest, even as former law enforcement, if my child were in that school, thy would have needed several cops to keep me from going in, but that being said, they were right to keep those people out, as they would likely have just raised the body count.
    The police securing the perimeter were just following orders, they knew little more than the public at that point.
    Those on the inside, I can NOT comment, as there is much that we don’t know, and it seems the story changes every hour.
    Still, the comment made by
    I would venture that most every officer on site, more so most in the nation, would stand in line to slap the stupid out of Olivarez for that statement, I know I would!
    He speaks only for himself, if he is the coward he appears to be, he should turn in his badge!

  4. Doesn’t that come with territory? If you are afraid then you shouldn’t go into law enforcement.

      2. As one who has been shot at, your comment displays the same cowardice as Lt. Chris Olivarez, as yes, it does indeed come with the job and it surprise none who swear the oath and pin the badge on their chest, as such is made perfectly clear!

    2. I was trained, I did sign up and yes, you are absolutely correct on both counts!
      You are not only told that you may have to give your life to protect another, you are expected to do so!
      Law enforcement is no pace for cowards, which is just what Lt. Chris Olivarez appears to be! Very few police onsite were aware of just what was going on, they followed orders with the impression that those in command were aware of the ful picture and that they knew how to best deal with the situation.
      Any failure, was that of command, they controlled the actions of the officers, there are no others to blame, other than the shooter who caused it all!

      1. My point, there were hundreds of law enforcers standing around for almost an hour, while the wounded kids who could be saved is bleeding to death or being shot. They obviously weren’t prepared or learned from other school shootings. The decision the person in charge made was a wrong one, it appeared he didn’t try very hard.

  5. Every so-called cop who waited needs to be criminally charged as accessory. These were 4 th graders . No adult should have waited nor hid. This shooter should have been charged as fast as anyone could run to him.

  6. Interesting that this is making even conservatives question/dislike/distrust cops. I wonder if this is a plan….? 🤔😎

  7. It used to be that police would run “towards”the gunfire. This is what happens when our government defunds the police. It apparently took all the fight out of them. That’s what the democrapers want. Total chaos in our streets.

  8. If Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez actually believes the BS he is spewing, then he is unfit to wear a badge. It is the job of police to “protect and serve” and if that means risking taking a bullet, so be it. While they stood around waiting for backup and harassing parents, 19 children were killed. So 40 police protected themselves and served no one. Are the Uvalde police completely without training? Are they all complete cowards? As a former LEO, I am appalled at the news I am reading.

  9. One question only. How did an 18 year old unemployed male pay, probably more than $5000.00 for the weapons, ammunition and additional magazines to pull this off? HOW? Answer that and we may have a solution.

    1. He worked at WENDY’s, and it not $5000 for these guns, where do you get your MISINFORMATION from?

  10. No one has said that they knew, little kids were being executed. The gunman could have just been shooting wildly. Having said that, the assumption for me, would be that he may be executing kids in there. I’m no Rambo, but there comes a time when you have to put it all on the line. Those guys, in my mind, should have said, we have to rush him now. Some of us are going to get shot, but we have to rush him now. Monday quarterbacking is running rampant, but I believe rushing him is what I would have done.

  11. This sick person’s grandmother used to work at the school, he knew which door to go to that wouldn’t be locked, you didn’t see him trying other doors or breaking in thru windows, that says a lot. But right now the rush for answers and announcements is too soon. Seems every couple of minutes a new story pops out, a congressman was wrong this morning stating the killer had been arrested for attempting to shoot up a school 4 years ago, it was someone else. This article was a bit misleading, the local police did not have body armor, if they tried the door they couldn’t see thru, their chances of saving anyone was extremely slim. It’s now coming out that there were officers in the building, but couldn’t rush the specific classroom, the killer would step out and shoot at them. Two things I see- the door was unlocked, I suspect grannie talked about it a few times for whatever reason, probably indicating the school was ignoring it despite other school shootings. The second thing I see is a mentally ill kid who used to shoot at people with a BB gun for fun, along with cutting himself on his facd so that it was clearly visible to all. I believe either expunging or sealing a juvenile’s record is wrong, it should depend on whether they committed violence, arson, or other signs of being a public menace, vs. a kid shoplifting makeup with their friends.

  12. Americans stand by and film crime and terror while blaming others for not willing to die for them. Ironic. Sad times these days, but I wouldn’t risk my life ever again for the weak and pathetic citizens of this lost country! AMERICA is unrecognizable and the people have done this to themselves or allowed it to be done.

    1. I am 65 yrs old, I was Never in the military nor was I ever in the police field, but I have been in gun fights with Real Bullets Flying into my truck, Yes I shot back and won. Yes I would have gone into that school and hunted downthat killer without Hesitation, Why these police officers didn’t go in and take him down with or without all of the Body armor is beyond me. if someone is to scare to do the job they are hired to do then it’s time for them to find a NEW JOB.

      1. I was a police officer in the 1970s, in a mid-West city with a high violent crime rate. Also, I worked the midnight shift, patrolling in a car by myself. Yes, I had backup in surrounding districts a few blocks away, if needed. But, being alone did not stop me from going in when needed. I am appalled at the cowardice of the Uvalde police.

    2. I agree with your first sentence. People would rather get “likes” than help a fellow human. I, on the other hand carry concealed whenever I leave the house and would have no problem doing what needed to be done to help get someone out of a bad situation.

  13. Today’s LEOs appear to get their inspiration from gutless Sheriff Link Appleyard (Andy Devine in …Liberty Valance)

    1. Sounds like they were trained by the Coward of Boward County, Florida.
      Then again, they may have been order by their Commander or the Chief of Police to stand down. Regardless, there are times you have to throw the book away and do what must be down to save lives.

  14. It’s becoming very clear…we don’t have a politician problem, we don’t have a cop problem, WE HAVE A CITIZEN PROBLEM. the blame game and the attention seeking is breaking the U.S. after the last 3 years what cop would hurry to help anyone when all the blame and bad gets dumped on them??? AMERICA HAS FALLEN TO VULCHERS.

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