New images show armed police officers waiting at school as a gunman shoots dead children

Security footage does not show police attempting to enter classrooms 111 or 112 at Robb Primary School in Uvalde, where Salvador Ramos shot dead 19 students and two teachers

New images of armed police officers at Robb Elementary School have surfaced the morning a gunman killed 21 people – 58 minutes before they entered the classroom where the massacre took place.

Questions have been asked about the police response to the Uvalde shooting after they falsely accused a teacher of leaving a door open to evil gunman Salvador Ramos.

Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers with a semi-automatic rifle in an attack that reignited debate about gun laws in the United States.

There was also outrage at how long it took police to challenge Ramos, whom they eventually shot dead, although the latest footage from the scene is unlikely to quell public outrage.

US journalist Tony Plohetski wrote on Twitter: “Several officers were with guns and at least one ballistic shield at Robb Elementary School at 11:52 a.m. on the day of the shooting, new videos and other evidence show.

“You haven’t entered the classroom for another 58 minutes.

“Investigators believe this is significant as it suggests they had more than enough firepower and protection to enter the classroom before they did.”

It was discovered that Ramos arrived at the school at 11.28am, having previously shot his grandmother in the face.

Police received an emergency call from a teacher at 11.30am, three minutes later Ramos entered the building.

Police first entered the building at 11.35am – two minutes before Ramos fired 16 shots. Between 12:03 p.m. and 12:19 p.m., five more 911 calls were received from students at the school, before three more gunshots were reported at 12:21 p.m.

At 12:46 p.m., police were finally allowed into the classroom and Ramos was shot and killed four minutes later.

Last month, a law enforcement official admitted police made the “wrong decision” to wait for reinforcements.

After days of mounting questions about law enforcement’s response, Colonel Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the on-site commander’s decision to delay entry to the classroom was “in hindsight” the “wrong decision.”

“It was the wrong decision. There is no excuse for that,” he said.

Sewell Chan, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune, said on Twitter that security footage did not show police attempting to open the doors to Classrooms 111 and 112, where the massacre took place.

He wrote: “No security footage from Robb shows officers attempting to open the doors of Classrooms 111 and 112 where the shooting took place.

“The police chief at Uvalde School had told us he tried to open one door while other officers were trying to open the other.

“Officials had four ballistic shields on the school during the altercation with the shooter. The first arrived 58 minutes before officers stormed the classrooms. The last ones came 30 minutes earlier.”