After a lengthy legal battle, the city of Uvalde, Texas, released a series of audio and video recordings related to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 21 people — including 19 students — dead.
Among the communications that were released, after several news outlets filed a lawsuit, were 911 calls made as the shooting unfolded. The release was reported by the Associated Press, CNN and the Austin American-Statesman, among others.
The Associated Press reported that a student in a classroom bravely called 911 after the caller had already shot multiple people inside the school.
“Please, I don’t want to die,” 10-year-old Khloie Torres told a dispatcher, according to the AP. “My teacher is dead. Oh my God.”
Khloie, who survived the shooting, reportedly also told the dispatcher that there were “a lot” of bodies. The dispatcher then asked the girl if there were many people still in the classroom.
“No, it’s just me and a couple of friends,” the girl reportedly said. “A lot of people are gone.”
The AP, CNN and the American-Statesman reported that one person who made a 911 call was the shooter’s uncle, who implored the dispatcher to connect him to his nephew, suggesting he might be able to talk him down.
The American-Statesman reported that the shooter’s uncle called minutes after law enforcement killed the gunman.
“I was wondering, maybe he could listen to me because he does listen to me, everything I tell him, he does listen to me,” the uncle, Armando Ramos, reportedly said.
He also reportedly said, “I think he is shooting kids. Why did you do this? Why?”
A teacher who called 911 remained on the phone with a dispatcher for nearly half an hour, the American-Statesman reported.
“I’m scared,” she reportedly said. “They are banging at my door.”
Police response to the shooting has sparked criticism in the two-plus years since.
In January, the United States Department of Justice released its review of the incident and heavily criticized the law enforcement response. It took 77 minutes from the time the shooting began to when the shooter was finally neutralized.
The review found that leadership failures and a delayed police response were the reason more lives were not saved.
Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department Chief Pete Arredondo was indicted in June on 10 counts of child endangerment in connection with the slow police response in June, according to the outlets.
Former school district police officer Adrian Gonzales was indicted on 29 counts of the same charge, according to the reports. Both have pleaded not guilty.
