Texas school shooting: Sister of Uvalde police officer says cops 'did not retreat'

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Police did not retreat from Texas school shooting: Sister of Uvalde officer

Patricia Chapa recounts the chilling events of the Uvalde elementary school shooting based on the accounts of her sister, a school teacher, and brother, a Uvalde police officer.

A Texas woman whose brother is a Uvalde police officer said cops did not retreat from Robb Elementary School as a gunman attacked a fourth-grade classroom.

Patricia Chapa, whose sister is a teacher at the school, joined "America's Newsroom" Friday to share what she has learned from her siblings about the attack and police response.

"They did not retreat until the shooter was down. They were in there the entire time. People don't understand, people think nobody was inside during that time. They were inside, they just couldn’t get to the shooter. The shooter would come out and shoot at them. There was no way for them to just go in there and shoot," said Chapa.

Police walk near Robb Elementary School following a shooting, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

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She said her brother was among the first officers to arrive at the scene and was fired at by the gunman, but was not hit. Chapa said she was not sure how long her brother was inside the school.

Following the shock of Tuesday's shooting, reports surfaced challenging law enforcement's response time and showcasing outraged parents. 

Video footage and testimonies disproved Initial reports particularly concerning the shooter's point of entry and building access as well as the officers' time of entry. 

"The police were doing nothing," Angeli Rose Gomez told the Wall Street Journal. "They were just standing outside the fence. They weren’t going in there or running anywhere."

Gomez, a parent of two children at Robb Elementary, was arrested after confronting police officers who were outside the school. Many parents urged officers to enter the building to stop the shooter amid the chaos of the scene. 

In a press conference on Thursday, Victor Escalon, Texas Department of Public Safety regional director, updated the community on the developments in the timeline. Escalon revealed the shooter entered Robb Elementary without any confrontation from officers through an unlocked door. 

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"It was reported that a school district police officer confronted the suspect who was making entry, not accurate. He walked in undisrupted initially," Escalon said during the press conference. 

While different stories have been shared about the shooting, law enforcement is investigating the timeline and working on getting answers for parents and the country, particularly over the school's safety protocol. 

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Chapa said her sister was alerted to the gunfire by another teacher coming to her classroom door, which was on the opposite side of the school from the shooter. She said her sister locked the door and sheltered her students in a restroom attached to the classroom until police arrived.

"She's doing OK," said Chapa, saying her sister does not want to return to the school. 

Fox News' Lisa Bennatan, Stephanie Pagones, Adam Sabes, Brie Stimson, Paul Best, and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.