Two decades of shooter response strategy ignored in Uvalde

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST
Associated Press

A total of 376 officers converged on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas — more than the entire police force in a mid-size American city like Fort Lauderdale, Florida or Tempe, Arizona. But for more than 70 minutes on May 24, not one stopped the shooter, even though the sound of gunfire can be heard on newly released video. By the time the officers took action, 19 elementary school students and two teachers were dead or mortally wounded. The response counters active-shooter training that emphasizes confronting the gunman, a standard established more than two decades ago after the mass shooting at Columbine High School showed that waiting cost lives.