Skip to main content
Clear icon
56º

Timeline: 911 calls, new details reveal more about Texas elementary school shooting

The last week of classes at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, ended in terror Tuesday when a gunman opened fire, killing 19 students and two teachers. News4JAX sister station KSAT in San Antonio, which is 85 miles from Uvalde, reported that all 21 victims have been publicly identified as of Friday morning.

The shooter, who was killed by law enforcement, has been identified as Salvador Ramos, 18, a high school dropout.

Director Steven McCraw with the Texas Department of Public Safety gave another update of the timeline of events on Friday, including an emotional recounting of the 911 calls coming from children inside the classrooms and new information about how the shooter was able to get into the school.

WATCH: Press play below to watch Texas officials give an update on the timeline of the shooting:

As of 12:30 p.m. Friday, here’s what’s known about the timeline of events on Tuesday:

  • Ramos shot his 66-year-old grandmother in the face at their Uvalde home, then fled in her truck as she tried to get help. (Officials said Thursday that she is in stable condition.)
  • At 11:27 a.m., video evidence shows an exterior door of the school was propped open by a teacher. Department of Public Safety spokesman Travis Considine said investigators haven’t yet determined why the door was propped open.
  • At 11:28 a.m., Ramos crashed his grandmother’s truck outside Robb Elementary School. At the same time inside the school, a teacher ran to room 132 to retrieve a phone and walked back to the exterior door -- which remained propped open. Two men who witnessed the crash from a funeral home across the street headed over to the ditch where the truck ended up, but they saw Ramos emerge from the passenger side of the truck with a long-arm rifle and a backpack (which investigators later learned was filled with ammunition). Ramos was wearing a tactical vest, but not body armor.
  • Ramos saw the two witnesses and began firing at them as they ran away. He missed. One of the men fell down. They ran back to the funeral home across the street.
  • Inside the school, video shows a teacher who emerged, panicked and called 911. That first 911 call came in at 11:30 a.m. The teacher related to the operator “Crash, man with a gun.”
  • Ramos continued toward the school, climbing a fence, and at 11:31 a.m. he reached the last row of vehicles in the school parking lot, then began walking down, shooting into the classroom windows of the school as the first patrol vehicles arrived at the funeral home. During this time, the school resource officer who was not on campus but had heard the 911 call responded but sped past Ramos, who crouched down behind a vehicle. The officer ended up at the back of the school, where he met a teacher.
  • At 11:32 a.m., more shots were fired at the school.
A map of the school which was used during a press conference held outside Robb Elementary School on Friday in Uvalde, Texas. Nearly 20 officers stood in a hallway outside of the classrooms during this week's attack on a Texas elementary school for more than 45 minutes before agents used a master key to open a door and confront a gunman, authorities said Friday. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
  • At 11:33 a.m., Ramos entered the school through the door that had been left open and began shooting into Room 111 or 112 (it’s difficult to tell which because of the angle of the video, officials said.) He shot at least 100 rounds at that time based on the audio evidence. According to officials, Ramos locked a classroom door and opened fire with the AR-15-style rifle, carrying multiple magazines. All 21 victims were in the two adjoining fourth-grade classrooms at Robb Elementary School.
  • At 11:35 a.m., three Uvalde police officers entered the same door Ramos had gone through. Another team of four -- three Uvalde officers and a county sheriff deputy -- followed the officers, so seven officers were on the scene. Two of the first three officers at the door received grazing wounds from the suspect while the door was closed, officials said.
  • At 11:37 a.m., another 16 rounds were fired.
  • KSAT reported that at 11:43 a.m. Tuesday, the elementary school announced on social media that the school was on lockdown.
  • As officers are calling for backup, including negotiators and tactical teams, they are also evacuating teachers and students from the building.
  • At 11:51 a.m., the police sergeant and border agents started to arrive.
  • At 12:03 p.m., more officers continued to arrive in the hallway until as many as 19 officers were in the school hallway. This is when the first 911 call is received from a student inside one of the classrooms. She identified herself to the operator in a whisper and said “I’m in room 112.”
  • At 12:10 p.m., Ramos was still inside the room when the first U.S. Marshals Service deputies arrived. They had raced to the school from nearly 70 miles away in the border town of Del Rio, the agency said in a tweet Friday.
  • Also at 12:10 p.m., the student called 911 again and told the operator there were multiple victims dead. She called again at 12:13 p.m.
  • At 12:15 p.m., border patrol tactical team members arrive with shields. But the police commander inside the building, head of Uvalde Independent School District Police Pete Arredondo, decided the group should wait to confront the gunman, on the belief that the scene was no longer an active attack, McCraw said.
  • At 12:16 p.m., the student in room 112 called again and told the operator there were eight to nine students alive in the classroom.
  • At 12:17 p.m., KSAT reported, that the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District confirmed that there was an active shooter situation taking place.
  • During the attack, frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the school, according to witnesses. (See video below)
  • At 12:19 p.m., another student in room 111 called 911 but then hung up when another student told her to.
  • At 12:21 p.m., Ramos fired again and was believed to be at the door, so law enforcement moved down the hallway. Those three gunshots can be heard on a 911 call.
  • At 12:36 p.m., another 911 call lasted 21 seconds. The initial child called back and the operator told her to stay on the line but to be very quiet. She told the operator, “He shot the door.”
  • At 12:43 p.m., the child caller asked the operator to “please send the police now.”
  • At 12:46 p.m., the child caller said she could “hear the police next door.”
  • At 12:47 p.m., the child caller again asked the operator to “please send the police now.”
  • At 12:50 p.m., law enforcement breached the doorway using keys retrieved from the janitor because both doors were locked. They killed Ramos. Shots can be heard on a 911 call.
  • At 12:51 p.m., very loud sounds can be heard on a 911 call. Officials said it sounds like officers are moving children out of the room. The first child who called is outside before the call cuts off. The situation becomes a rescue operation with officers trying to save as many of the wounded children as they can.

WATCH: Press play below to watch video from the scene as it unfolded while the gunman was inside Robb Elementary School. (WARNING: It is emotional and some may find it disturbing. It also may contain foul language):


About the Authors
Francine Frazier headshot

A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.

Tarik Minor headshot

Tarik anchors the 4, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. weekday newscasts and reports with the I-TEAM.

Loading...

Recommended Videos