On Tuesday, about 20 policemen waited in a hallway outside the classrooms of Uvalde‘s Robb Elementary School for over 45 minutes at the behest of their commander, who thought that none of the 19 children and two teachers who later ended up being killed were facing a “threat.”

In a news conference on Friday, Steven McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters that the commander at the scene was under the false impression that the situation was of a “barricaded suspect”, and not an “active shooter.”

After waiting in the hallway for over 45 minutes, officers barged in by using a master key to open the door of the classroom, the official said, according to USA Today.

McCraw said that Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old gunman, walked into the school at 11:33 am on Tuesday. However, due to the lapse in judgment, officers did not breach the classroom and only killed the suspect at 12:50 pm. During the time interval, several 911 calls were made by children inside the classroom who said, “please send the police now.”

“He (the commander) was convinced at the time that there was no more threat to the children and that the subject was barricaded and that they had time to organize,” McCraw said at the conference, adding that “of course it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision.”

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He added that most of Ramos‘ ammunition, which consisted of hundreds of bullets, was used within minutes as he entered the elementary school. 

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Salvador Ramos entered the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday and barricaded himself inside a classroom full of children and teachers before opening fire on them. The rampage killed 19 kids, including five fourth graders, and two teachers.