A 9-year-old describes escaping through a window as anger mounts over law enforcement’s response in Uvalde

Daniel, 9, alongside his mom, Briana Ruiz, advised CNN the gunman fired a number of pictures into his classroom after being unable to enter. The door had been locked by his instructor, and the bullets fired struck the instructor in addition to a classmate.

Daniel survived by first "hiding underneath a desk subsequent to the wall." He said he might see the gunman by means of the door's window.

"I may still see his face," the boy said. "I may see him watching folks in entrance of me."

Daniel later climbed out of a damaged window to flee, chopping his hand on some glass, he mentioned, and the 2 people injured in his class would survive.

Video taken from the surface of the varsity during the incident, obtained by ABC News, includes what seems to be dispatch audio informing officers on scene a toddler is asking 911 from a classroom.

"Advise we do have a toddler on the road," the dispatcher says. "Little one is advising he is in the room filled with victims."

The video indicates police at the scene have been knowledgeable at the least one child remained alive inside the school rooms.

CNN has not been in a position to independently verify the video/audio. The supply of the video is unclear and it's unclear at what point in the incident the audio is heard. CNN has reached out to authorities to reply questions about this audio.

Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw advised reporters Friday there were no less than eight 911 calls from at the least two separate callers from inside the college, masking a span of nearly 50 minutes. The decision made on scene to deal with the incident like a barricaded suspect, rather than an active shooter, was "unsuitable," he mentioned.

Also on Monday, funeral services for two victims are set to take place at native funeral homes. Visitation and Rosary for 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza will take place Monday at Hillcrest Memorial Funeral House, and providers for 10-year-old Maite Yuleana Rodriguez will take place at Rushing Estes Knowles.

Law enforcement response called into query

Alfred Garcia, whose daughter was killed within the taking pictures, advised CNN he was in "disbelief" over how a lot time elapsed through the shooting earlier than it ended and shared his frustration with authorities' response.

"It would not take a genius to determine that it simply took too lengthy to get in there and, you recognize, had they gotten there sooner, and somebody would have taken speedy action, we would have extra of these youngsters here right this moment, including my daughter," he mentioned.

Regulation enforcement officers in Texas are trained to intervene shortly, in line with active shooter pointers within the state's fee on legislation enforcement 2020 coaching manual obtained by CNN. The guide states an "officer's first precedence is to move in and confront the attacker."

"As first responders we should acknowledge that harmless life must be defended," it says. "A primary responder unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their very own safety ought to take into account one other profession subject."

Seven officers arrived at the scene within two minutes of the shooter firing within the classroom. Three officers approached the locked classroom where the gunman was, and two officers suffered graze wounds from bullets fired from behind the door, DPS stated. Officers then stationed down the hallway.

The group then didn't breach the classroom for at the least another half-hour, in keeping with the timeline provided by DPS. A 911 call placed at 12:16 p.m., in keeping with DPS, from a girl in one of many school rooms instructed the operator eight or nine students were nonetheless alive.

The delayed police response in Uvalde runs opposite to well-established, commonly taught energetic shooter protocol established after the Columbine school capturing of 1999, specialists stated.

"Even below hearth, officers are trained to go to that risk as a result of every second counts," mentioned Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN regulation enforcement analyst. "What we saw here was that delay cost children their lives, full stop."

"The aim of the evaluation is to supply an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify classes realized and best practices to assist first responders prepare for and reply to energetic shooter events," the DOJ said in a press release Sunday.

The DOJ is predicted to select someone in the next few days to lead the review, in line with two sources acquainted with the process. The Justice Division has historically relied on individuals outdoors the DOJ with law enforcement experience and on-the-ground experience with mass-casualty occasions to conduct such opinions.

Biden hopeful 'rational' Republicans can comply with gun reform

"What kind of world are we residing in that laws was created for razing these colleges?" Gutierrez requested throughout the interview.

According to Gutierrez, Biden additionally told him, "I am not going away ... I'm gonna deliver you assets ... look to getting actual money for psychological well being care." There is just one psychiatrist in Uvalde, in response to the senator.

Biden voiced optimism on Monday certain "rational" Republicans could conform to some sort of recent gun restrictions.

"I believe issues have gotten so bad that everybody's getting more rational about it. At the very least that is my hope and prayer," Biden told reporters at the White House.

Biden, in his most extensive feedback about gun management since final week's murders, stated he was limited in steps he might take alone.

"There's the Structure. I can't dictate these things. I can do the things I've carried out, and any government action I can take I will continue to take. But I can not outlaw a weapon, I can't change the background checks. I am unable to try this," he stated.

Group comes collectively

Within the wake of the capturing, an outpouring of help to these in the community is being provided.

Carlos Hernandez, whose restaurant is a mile from Robb Elementary, wrote on Facebook hours after the taking pictures, "There's no doable way I can open my kitchen with a broken heart and have enjoyable doing it."

On Thursday -- his thirty third birthday -- Hernandez decided to cook dinner for the community, whipping up favorite dishes, including wings, mac-and-cheese and fried fish tacos.

Inside two hours, Hernandez had given away more than 60 family-sized platters to feed mourning families and neighbors who are nonetheless studying how to cope with the tragedy inflicted on their tight-knit community.

"It is an actual powerful situation, I am simply trying to show the children that they do have us as their spine and a support system," Hernandez told CNN. "We at all times present, whether or not there may be an incident or no incident."

Elsewhere in Uvalde, the El Progreso Memorial Library has turn into a place of therapeutic.

On Wednesday, only a day after the capturing, kids's librarian Martha Carreon sat in entrance of rows of little faces, reading, singing, and guffawing with the kids, taking them away to a secure place far from the varsity where many of them turned witness to horror.

"We wish our building to be a protected space, a refuge that may be a quiet, calm and cool haven," El Progreso Memorial Library director Mendell Morgan told CNN.

Along with psychologists who can be accessible every weekday for youngsters and adults to talk to, there can even be massage remedy practitioners, volunteers for arts and craft activities, pianists to play soothing music, and even magicians to hold professional magic exhibits.

"This can be a robust group where we have true care and concern for one another," Morgan said. "Many, if not most right here, hold fast to their faith believing in God, that good is stronger than evil and light-weight is stronger than darkish."

CNN's Alaa Elassar, Ed Lavandera, Amanda Watts, Hannah Sarisohn, Eric Levenson, Virginia Langmaid, Paula Reid, Priscilla Alvarez, Whitney Wild, Paula Reid, Jennifer Henderson, Emma Tucker, Christina Maxouris, Holly Yan and Aya Elamroussi contributed to this report.