(NewsNation) — Texas officials will hold a press conference Friday into the investigation into the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 children and two teachers.
Emotions have been high and palpable as authorities reveal more details of the moments leading up to the shooting. At a press conference Thursday, confusion reigned as authorities did not directly answer questions about why officers had not been able to stop the shooter sooner.
Watch Live Above: The Texas Department of Public Safety is expected to give an update on the latest in the investigation into the shooting at 11 a.m. CT
Victor Escalon, regional director for the Texas Department of Public Safety, told reporters he had “taken all those questions into consideration” and would offer updates later.
Authorities said the 18-year-old gunman was in Robb Elementary School for over an hour before he was killed by law enforcement.
It was 11:28 a.m. when Salvador Ramos’ Ford pickup slammed into a ditch behind the low-slung Texas school and the driver jumped out carrying an AR-15-style rifle, authorities said Thursday. Twelve minutes later, at 11:40 am the gunman entered the building at 11:40 a.m. unobstructed through a door that was apparently unlocked, according to Escalon. At 12:58 p.m., law enforcement radio chatter said Ramos had been killed and the siege was over.
Many other details of the case and the response remained murky. The motive for the massacre — the nation’s deadliest school shooting since Newtown, Connecticut, almost a decade ago — remained under investigation, with authorities saying Ramos had no known criminal or mental health history.
President Joe Biden is set to visit Uvalde this weekend.
“Where in God’s name is our backbone?” Biden said Tuesday evening, calling on the American people to “have the courage to deal with this and stand up to the [gun] lobbies.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
