- Police falsely claimed that a back door at Robb Elementary was propped open by a teacher.
Texas law enforcement on Tuesday walked back the claim, now saying the teacher shut the door.
Texas law enforcement officials falsely claimed that security footage from Robb Elementary School in Texas shows that a back door was propped open by a teacher before Tuesday's deadly mass shooting, later clarifying that the teacher closed the door when she saw there was a shooter outside — the latest shifting narrative from law enforcement sources.
At 11:27 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the door that police believe was used by the 18-year-old gunman to enter the school was propped open by a teacher, Director of Texas Department of Public Safety Steven McCraw initially said at a Friday press conference.
McCraw claimed the detail was confirmed through "video evidence."
After the gunman crashed his vehicle in a ditch just a minute later, the teacher ran to get a phone and walked back to the propped-open door.
Two men at a nearby funeral home heard the crash and went to the scene, only to find the gunman exit the vehicle. The men ran as they were shot at, but were not hit.
Through security footage inside the school, McGraw said the teacher panicked and called police at 11:30 a.m. to report the crash and gunman.
But McCraw did not mention that the teacher kicked the rock that propped open the door out of the way and closed the door when she saw the gunman.
The door didn't lock, law enforcement now say, marking at least 13 times their narrative around the deadly shooting has changed under increasing scrutiny about the police's response to the massacre that left 21 people — including 19 children — dead.
It is unclear why the door didn't lock or why police initially falsely implied the teacher left the door open for the shooter.
Eventually, at 11:33 a.m. the gunman entered the school through the unlocked door, barricaded himself inside a classroom and massacred 19 children and two adults.
McCraw said police who arrived at the scene were ordered by Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo not to engage with the shooter because they believed there was no more threat to children.
"Obviously, based upon the information we have, there were children in that classroom that were at risk and it was, in fact, still an active shooter situation," McGraw said.