Photo: ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty
The teacher, who authorities initially claimed propped open a door that allowed the gunman to enter Robb Elementary School andkill 19 kids and two teachers, had actually closed the door, state troopers said Tuesday.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has now determined the unnamed Uvalde teacher had initially propped open the door with a rock, but removed it and closed the door after realizing a gunman was on campus, Travis Considine, chief communications officer for the Texas DPS, said via theAssociated Press.
“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 told the outlet.
“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,” Considine added.
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Steven McCraw, director of the Texas DPS, had originally said Friday that the gunman entered the school through a backdoor that had been propped open minutes before the massacre, perThe Texas Tribune.
However, after reviewing additional video footage, investigators confirmed the teacher did in fact shut the door, per AP.
“She saw the wreck,” Don Flanary, an attorney representing the unnamed teacher, toldSan Antonio Express-Newsof the initial car accident outside the school involving the shooter.
“She ran back inside to get her phone to report the accident. She came back out while on the phone with 911. The men at the funeral home yelled, ‘He has a gun!’ She saw him jump the fence, and he had a gun, so she ran back inside,” Flanary continued.
“She kicked the rock away when she went back in,” he added. “She remembers pulling the door closed while telling 911 that he was shooting. She thought the door would lock because that door is always supposed to be locked.”
PEOPLE’s request for comment from Flanary was not immediately returned.
source: people.com
