Locked Doors Will Save Us!

Breaking: The Uvalde school district police chief defends the police response to the mass shooting that left 21 dead at Robb Elementary School in interviews with The @TexasTribune. https://t.co/lf6NuIGtrD

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) June 10, 2022

Only a locked classroom door stood between Pete Arredondo and a chance to bring down the gunman. It was sturdily built with a steel jamb, impossible to kick in. 

He wanted a key. One goddamn key and he could get through that door to the kids and the teachers. The killer was armed with an AR-15. Arredondo thought he could shoot the gunman himself or at least draw fire while another officer shot back. Without body armor, he assumed he might die. 

“The only thing that was important to me at this time was to save as many teachers and children as possible,” Arredondo said. 

The chief of police for the Uvalde school district spent more than an hour in the hallway of Robb Elementary School. He called for tactical gear, a sniper and keys to get inside, holding back from the doors for 40 minutes to avoid provoking sprays of gunfire. When keys arrived, he tried dozens of them, but one by one they failed to work.

“Each time I tried a key I was just praying,” Arredondo said. Finally, 77 minutes after the massacre began, officers were able to unlock the door and fatally shoot the gunman.

Or, you know, not. 

Doors lock out. Which isn’t always what you want.