Robb Elementary School knew one of the classroom doors didn't lock properly, but no one ever fixed it, an investigative report found. That door was likely used by the shooter to get into the classroom.
- The Texas House committee investigating the shooting at Robb Elementary released their investigation on Sunday.
- The report said the door to classroom 111 had a broken lock that administrators knew about.
A broken lock at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that school administrators were aware of "likely" allowed a gunman to enter a classroom and fatally shoot 19 students and two teachers, an investigation found.
The Texas House committee investigating the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School released a report on Sunday detailing the "shortcomings and failures" of the school district and law enforcement surrounding mass shooting.
According to the report, one of those failures was a malfunctioning door lock that went unserviced.
The report says that Arnulfo Reyes, a fourth-grade teacher at Robb Elementary, told administrators that the lock on his classroom door was broken around March 2022. In May, a shooter "likely" used the unsecured door to enter Reyes' classroom, killing all 11 students inside and wounding him, the report found.
"He stated that, on multiple occasions, he reported the malfunctioning lock to school administrators, who stated that the request had been turned in," the report said.
Mandy Gutierrez, Robb's principal, testified to the committee that administrators knew about the door, receiving a request around spring break — March 14 to March 18, according to the school's calendar.
"We cannot be certain which of the doors the attacker entered," the report says. "But, based on the evidence available to the Committee, it is most likely that the attacker found the door to Room 111 unlocked or unsecured and entered through that door."
Reyes testified that he doesn't remember receiving a lockdown alert or taking any extra steps to secure his classroom before the shooter entered, according to the report.
In a statement to Insider, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell said he appreciates the "factual account of the terrible tragedy we experienced," from the board and that the findings "reinforce" the security plans for 2022-2023, including upgrading "doors, locks and access points."
A spokesperson didn't respond to specific questions about the lock on room 111's door.