When US Border Patrol agents who belong to a specialized unit responded to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, at around 12:15 p.m. local time, the officer in charge had already made the determination that it was a barricaded subject situation, according to a source familiar with the situation.
“They showed up from where they were and put together the operation hastily,” the source added. Some of the officers came from the field, including a stash house operation near the city of Eagle Pass, and some who were off duty also sped in to respond.
The team then waited, not breaching the classroom where the shooter was holed up until nearly 40 minutes later.
On Friday, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said members of the specialized unit known as the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, or BORTAC, began to arrive at 12:15 p.m. local time. He said they finally breached at 12:57 p.m. local time, after the incident commander had determined “they needed more equipment and officers to do a tactical breach.”
In incidents like the one Tuesday, where local authorities are in command of the scene, Border Patrol often serves in a support role and the agency on command will dictate what they do, the source said, adding that they try not to overrule the authorities. While the team would defer to the local command, if they felt there was a need to, they could override that. There is no indication yet this occurred at the school this week.
Typically, in a situation like that, the source said, efforts are made to get people in the area — in this case, children — to safety.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement it had no additional information to offer at this time.
“It’s going to haunt them forever,” the source said, referring to the agents who responded and what they saw at the scene.
Leave a Reply