Police – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Price

An exterior door at Robb Elementary Faculty did not lock when it was closed by a teacher shortly before a gunman used it to get inside and kill 19 students and two teachers, leaving investigators looking to determine why, state police mentioned Tuesday.

State police initially said a trainer had propped the door open shortly before the shooter entered the college in Uvalde, Texas, on Might 24.

They've now determined that the teacher, who has not been recognized, propped the door open with a rock, however then eliminated the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, mentioned Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. However, Considine said, the door did not lock.

“We did verify she closed the door. The door didn't lock. We all know that a lot and now investigators are wanting into why it did not lock,” Considine mentioned.

Investigators confirmed the detail by way of additional video footage reviewed since last Friday’s information convention when authorities first mentioned that the door had been left propped open. Authorities didn't state at that time what had been used to prop open the door.

Considine mentioned the teacher initially propped the door open however ran back inside to get her phone and name 911 when the gunman crashed his truck on campus.

“She came again out whereas on her phone, she heard someone yell, ‘He has a gun!’, she noticed him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside,” eradicating the rock when she did, Considine mentioned.

San Antonio legal professional Don Flanary advised the San Antonio Express-News that the Robb Elementary School employee, whom he’s not naming, closed the door shut after realizing that a gunman was on the free. She had initially propped it open to carry food from a car to a classroom, the attorney stated.

“She kicked the rock away when she went again in. She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was taking pictures,” Flanary told the newspaper.

Funerals are planned for the subsequent two-and-a-half weeks for the 19 youngsters and two teachers who have been killed in that classroom on May 24.

“She thought the door would lock as a result of that door is at all times supposed to be locked,” Flanary mentioned.

Flanary didn't instantly return phone messages left at his office from The Associated Press.

Investigators are additionally still attempting to interview Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased College District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who state police have stated was the commander of the school shooting scene whereas it happened.

Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Division of Public Safety, has mentioned Arredondo treated the energetic scene as a hostage scenario and as if youngsters were now not at risk, whereas 19 cops waited in the faculty hallway outside the classroom the place the shooter was.

McCraw referred to as that the “improper decision,” saying the main focus of the investigation has shifted to Arredondo and the police response.

Different officers in the Uvalde metropolis and faculties police departments continue to sit down for interviews and provide statements, however Arredondo has not responded to DPS requests for 2 days, Considine mentioned.