A Texas official admitted law enforcement made the “wrong decision” in their response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, failing to breach the classroom for a 35-minute period as an 18-year-old gunman terrorized children inside.

At a press conference on Friday, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw acknowledged that officers on the scene in the small rural town of Uvalde Tuesday miscalculated what was unfolding.

“It was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision. Period … We believe there should have been an entry. We don’t have time,” he said.

Children were inside the Robb Elementary School classroom with him, making 911 calls, McCraw said in a press conference Friday. By the time a U.S. Border Patrol tactical team arrived and killed the alleged shooter, identified as Salvador Ramos, 19 children, and two teachers were killed, several more were severely injured, and others survived to recount the nightmare.

He allegedly purchased two assault rifles just days after turning 18 and used them to carry out the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history, according to authorities.

What we know about the police response

Relatives of victims and neighbors of Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School are raising questions over how police officers who first arrived on the scene handled the situation — including whether they followed their own training.

Officials said around 11:28 a.m., the suspect crashed his grandmother’s car on the perimeter of the school, pulled out an AR-style rifle and backpack filled with ammunition, and fired at two nearby witnesses as he made his way toward the school. Prior to arriving at the school, the suspect also allegedly shot his grandmother, officials said.

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