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Deputy: 2 officers had chance to shoot Uvalde school gunman

A sign with encouraging messages hangs at a memorial at Robb Elementary School created to honor the victims killed in the recent school shooting, Thursday, June 9, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. The Texas elementary school where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers has long been a part of the fabric of the small city of Uvalde, a school attended by generations of families, and where the spark came that led to Hispanic parents and students to band together to fight discrimination over a half-century ago. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
by: WRTV Staff
Posted: / Updated:

Two Uvalde city police officers told a sheriff’s deputy that they passed up a fleeting chance to shoot the gunman for fear of hitting children outside an elementary school where the gunman killed 21 people.

The gunman went on to enter Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24 and open fire, killing 19 children and two teachers.

Chief Deputy Ricardo Rios of nearby Zavala County told The New York Times after speaking to two unidentified officers, one of whom was armed with an AR-15-style rifle, who said they had seen the gunman firing from outside the school.

When Rios asked why the officers didn’t shoot, they said children were playing in the background in the line of fire.

Rios told the newspaper that he also shared this information with a special Texas House committee that’s investigating the deadly school shooting.

On Thursday, Republican state Representative Dustin Burrows voiced his frustrations on Twitter about why the law enforcement agency wasn’t initially cooperating with the investigation.

On Friday, he said officials from the Uvalde Police Department would speak with the committee probing the school massacre.

“The House Committee is simply seeking the truth,” Burrows said in a tweet. “Most have fully cooperated and want to help determine the facts for the Uvalde community and all Texans. I do not understand why Uvalde PD, who routinely questions witnesses itself, would not want the same.”

The special committee has already interviewed witnesses thus far behind closed doors, including state police, school staff, and school district police.

It’s unclear if Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arrendondo will be part of the hearing.

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