Police say an exterior door at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, did not lock when it was closed by a teacher shortly before a gunman used it to enter the building and kill 19 students and two teachers.
ABC News reports that authorities initially said a teacher had propped the door open shortly before Salvador Ramos, 18, entered the school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.
Police now say that the teacher propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, said Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. But, Considine said, the door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock.
“We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock. We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock,” Considine said.
Investigators confirmed the detail through additional video footage.
Considine said the teacher initially propped the door open but ran back inside to get her phone and called 911 when Ramos crashed his truck on campus.
“She came back out while on her phone, she heard someone yell, ‘He has a gun!’, she saw him jump the fence and that he had a gun, so she ran back inside,” removing the rock when she did, Considine said.
