- Police knew victims were still alive while they waited to confront the gunman in Uvalde, The New York Times reported.
- "People are going to ask why we're taking so long," police chief Pete Arredondo is believed to say on a recording.
- Three children later died in a hospital. One teacher died in an ambulance.
Police in Uvalde, Texas, knew there were victims still alive while they waited outside a classroom to confront a gunman who ultimately killed 21 people, including 19 children, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Citing video footage and other material being poured over by investigators, The Times reported that Uvalde's school district police chief Pete Arredondo instructed officers to wait until they received more protective equipment before seeking to disable the shooter inside Robb Elementary School.
"People are going to ask why we're taking so long," a man believed to be Arredondo is heard saying on a recording. According to its review of the material, The Times reported that the delay was caused by Arredondo's belief that more lives could be saved by waiting for shields to arrive before barging into the classroom.
"We're trying to preserve the rest of the life," Arredondo reportedly said, according to footage captured by a body camera.
Three children died at a hospital later, The Times noted, and one teacher died in an ambulance. One of those children, Xavier Lopez, 10, lost blood after being shot in the back.
"The police did not go in for more than an hour. He bled out," his grandfather Leonard Sandoval told The Times. "He could have been saved."
"We think there are some injuries in there," Arredondo reportedly said, according to a transcript obtained by the Times. "And so you know what we did, we cleared off the rest of the building so we wouldn't have any more, besides what's already in there, obviously."
Both the Texas state police and the U.S. Justice Department are conducting investigations into the shooting response.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.