Border Patrol agents have been decorated for valor for storming a classroom at Robb Elementary and killing the gunmen who had slaughtered 19 children and two teachers. But an Express-News investigation found that agents hesitated for at least 30 minutes.
In reconstructing the confrontation, Express-News reporter Guillermo Contreras drew on statements the BORTAC agents gave investigators. He also examined hours of bodycam video.The first BORTAC member arrived at the school at 12:12 p.m. that day. Yet the team did not breach the classroom and kill the shooter until 12:50 p.m. — 38 minutes later.
The delay was partly caused by the need for a ballistic body shield to protect the agents. Four shields were delivered to the school during the standoff but only the last to arrive was"rifle-rated," meaning it was strong enough to withstand rounds from the shooter's military-grade semiautomatic rifle.
The rifle-rated shield was in hand by 12:20 p.m. Around the same time, the shooter unleashed another burst of gunfire inside the classroom. Yet the BORTAC team waited another 30 minutes before charging through the door. Their statements do not indicate why. The acting commander of the Border Patrol unit spent precious time searching for a master key to the classroom. Officers on the scene had told him the door was locked.
One of the BORTAC members was struck in the head, arm and foot by bullet fragments during the firefight with the shooter.
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