colonel steven mccraw said that pete arredondo made terrible decisions and revealed police would have discovered the door to the classroom where the shooter was holed up was unlocked but never checked. instead they wasted precious time searching for a key. trinity chavez is in new york with more. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, anne-marie. the director of the texas department of public safety says police wasted crucial time looking for a classroom door key that was actually never needed. in a blistering testimony, the colonel told the senate committee there is no indication officers even tried to open the door while the gunman was holed up. the head of the texas department of public safety is blasting the police response to the uvalde mass shooting. colonel steven mccraw testified there were enough armed officers in the school hallway three minutes after the gunman walked into the school. police waited 74 minutes before breaching what is now said to be an unlocked door. >> i don't believe based on the information that we have now that that door was ever secured. in fact, i ha

texas' top cop, steven mccraw, testified today in austin that officers had the manpower.ent and the time to "neutralize the suspect." mccraw placed the blame squarely on police chief pete arredondo, who was inside the school but did not act. cbs' omar villafranca is going to start us off tonight from uvalde, texas. good evening, omar. >> reporter: good evening. the head of d.p.s., said the fact that officers waited so long to react goes against everything they are taught and said that inaction set the profession back a decade. he also said the school police chief put lives of officers over children. texas' top trooper was blunt. >> there's compelling evidence that the law enforcement response to the attack at robb elementary was an abject failure. >> reporter: colonel steven mccraw, head of the texas department of public safety, placed that blame solely at the boots of the uvalde school police chief, pete arredondo. >> the only thing stopping the hallway of dedicated officers from entering room 111 and 112 1 minutes in, the first bal was the on-scene commander, who decide

steven mccraw: there's compelling evidence that the law enforcemt response to the attack at robb elementary was an abject failure and antithetical to everything we've learned over the last two decades since the columbine massacre. 3 minutes after the subject entered the west building, there was a sufficient number of armed officers wearing body armor to isolate, distract, and neutralize the subject. the only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from any room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers for the lives of children. the officers had weapons. the children had none. reporter: tony plohetski is an investigative reporter for the austin american-statesman covering the robb elementary massacre. he joins us now from austin, texas. thank you for being with us. from the beginning, we have been getting different details and details have changed. at first they said the gunman had barricaded himself, then they said officers did not have protective. those things were not true. what new things did we learn from the hearing today? tony: there was

senators asked colonel steven mccraw that very question because within those eight agencies was the texasmccraw leads and he was asked once his troopers arrived on scene, once other high ranking members arrived on scene, why did those members did not -- do no -- did not take control of the scene. why if they saw that this was such a debacle, why these other law enforcement officers didn't take control, rush into this classroom, and save these children. what colonel mccraw said was that it is practice and protocol for the highest ranking officer of the jurisdiction, in this case, the school district, for that individual to be the commander of the incident, to take command, to take control. and i checked on this question, poppy, actually, because i was curious as a reporter looking at all of the law enforcement agencies that had responded, so i have been calling for a while now, actually, sheriffs i know, other police chiefs within school districts, to get at this question because that was, for me, one of the burning questions why didn't someone just take control of this scene if they knew

when you hear and even just those two bits of testimony that we just played, from steven mccraw, whatn this latest account? >> well, first of all, this keeps getting worse. and there is just absolutely no excuse for them to avoid it that long to get in. and i think it points to another issue that the departments around the country need to pay attention to, just because an individual has rank, it doesn't mean they make good decisions in a moment of crisis. when you've got somebody who is in charge of your special operations, on scene commander, whatever, you better have the right person there, this police chief was not the right person. he couldn't make a decision. and so, you know, this is just bad. there is just no other way of describing it. the officer should not even have waited for an on scene commander. you make entry, they had shields, they had bulletproof vests, long guns, what else do you need? you have kids being slaughtered in there, teachers being slaughted and you're standing around waiting? it makes no sense. it makes me angry. it is embarrassing because it is embarrassi

eliciting some of the most shocking details from the director of texas department of public safety steven mccraw one error, 14 minutes and 8 seconds. that's how long the children waited and the teachers waited in rooms 111 to be rescued. >> reporter: mccraw's office is conducting one of several investigations into the law enforcement response at robb elementary alongside texas rangers and the fbi, providing another timeline of events compiled from 911 calls, surveillance, and body camera footage. and this stunning revelation. >> three minutes after the subject entered the west building, there was sufficient number of armed officers wearing body armor to isolate, distract, and neutralize the subject. the only thing stopping the hallway of dedicated officers from entering room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander. who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children. >> reporter: that information, a stark contrast from what was previously disclosed by authorities. district police chief pete arredondo has previously said the delay in breaching the classroom and confronting the

colonel steven mccraw said officers could have acted within 3 minutes and saved lives instead of waiting for more than an hour last night, uvalde mayor don mclaughlin kronk used accused him of minimizing his own agency's mistakes that day. the mayor across officers and rangers were on the scene at robb elementary school on may 24th when a gunman killed 19 children and 2 teachers, senate bargainers reached agreement tuesday on a bipartisan gun violence bill that may's final passage could come before the end of this week. >> the compromise bill includes money for school safety, mental health state crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the national instant criminal background check system. our correspondent anna wiernicki is in washington with the latest. it is a buy partisan compromise is a path for top senate negotiators say they're 80 page bipartisan, safer communities act will curb gun violence, a gun safety bill that can be described with 3 words. >> common sense bipartisan lifesaving democrats and republicans praised the bill. i think it

yesterday, the state's top cop, steven mccraw, said the shooter was on a pathway to violence. >> he hadily member to purchase him a weapon who refused. he was 17 years old at the time, after he dropped out of high school on october 28. >> reporter: there won't be any more classes at robb elementary. the mayor of uvalde sails it's his understanding that this building will be demolished, adding he couldn't ask a child or teacher to go back. norah. >> o'donnell: omar villafranca with those tough questions. thank you. we turn now to a cbs news meealth providl. the company exploded in popularity during the pandemic, but it's now facing a department of justice investigation over how it prescribed drugs like adderall. cbs' anna werner sat down exclusively with the company's new c.e.o. to address concerns raised by our investigation and that d.o.j. probe, which the company is cooperating with. cerebral is extremely easy to use. >> reporter: cerebral is the largest of a number of online mental health companies that advertise medication management for conditions like a.d.h.d. heavily on social me

. >> reporter: in fact, the director of the texas department of public safety, steven mccraw, testifying that police had the weapons and the equipment to storm the classroom three minutes after the gunman entered the school. >> three minutes after the subject entered the west building, there was sufficient number of armed officers wearing body armor to isolate, distract, and neutralize the subject. the only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering room 111 and 112 was the onscene commander, who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children. >> reporter: that onscene commander, the embattled school district police chief, spotted today after testifying in a closed hearing. >> chief, do you have anything to say to the parents? >> reporter: pete arredondo recently telling "the texas tribune" that while he didn't think he was in charge that day, he called for tactical gear and a sniper. but this image obtained by abc affiliate kvue in austin shows two officers with rifles and a ballistic shield of 25 total in the building. and investigators say kids a

yesterday, the state's top cop, steven mccraw, said the shooter was on a pathway to violence. >> he had asked a family member to purchase him a weapon who refused. he was 17 years old at the time, after he dropped out of high school on october 28. >> reporter: there won't be any more classes at robb elementary. the mayor of uvalde sails it's his understanding that this building will be demolished, adding he couldn't ask a child or teacher to go back. norah. >> o'donnell: omar villafranca with those tough questions. thank you. the "the cbs overnight news" will be right back. here's to real flavors... real meals. real good. all of knorr's high quality pasta and rice sides are now made with no artificial flavors or preservatives. knorr. taste for good. ♪ when you have nausea, ♪ a♪ heartburn, ingestion, upsetl stomach... ♪ preservatives. ♪ diarrheaaaa.♪ try pepto bismol with a powerful coating action. for fast and soothing relief. pepto bismol for fast relief when you need it most. itchy? squirmy? family not getting clean? get charmin ultra strong! go get 'em. it just cleans better. with a

steven mccraw told lawmakers a sufficient number of armed officers were ready to enter the school within three minutes. one thing stood in their way. >> the only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers in rooms 111 and 112 was the commander, who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children. the officers had weapons, the children had none. the officers had body armor, the children had none. >> uvalde police chief beat era donda was the incident commander on site and was the lone witness today in a separate closed-door hearing being held by the texas state house of representatives. the supreme court ruled today that religious schools cannot be excluded from a program that offers tuition and aid for private education. the ruling led by conservative justices could ease religious organization's access to taxpayer money and school choice programs. john roberts claims main's program is discriminatory against religion because it pays for certain private schools. critics say this will further erode the separation between church and state. >> the u.s. marshals service

yet listening to that same official, steven mccraw, at a briefing just a day after the shooting, before the reality of what police didn't do was clear to everybody, police knew, people who had been on the scene knew, but the rest of the world did not know. if you listen to mr. mcgraw, steve mcgraw at that point, the day after the shooting, may have been led to believe a delay never happened, that everybody on the scene acted as quickly as they should have. >> when the shooting began, we had uvalde police officers arrive on scene, along with the consolidated independent school district officers immediately breached, because we know as an officer, every second's a life. they breached it, engaged the active shooter and continued to keep him pinned down in that location, you know, afterwafrds until a tactical team could be put together, comprised of border patrol agents on the front end, some members of their unit, a s.w.a.t. team for border patrol. >> so, he's saying they breached it, they engaged with the shooter, and then waited for a tactical team. he mentioned nothing about when the ch

. >> the director of texas department of public safety, steven mccraw, passing judgment publicly beforeate special committee, one of the biggest failures, he said, waiting. >> while they waited, the on scene commander waited for radio and rifles. then he waited for shields. then he waited for s.w.a.t. lastly, he waited for a key that was never needed. >> despite earlier reports from the texas tribune, that school district police chief pete arredondo tried dozens of keys that failed to work, mccraw today confirming the door to the classroom was unlocked. the preliminary investigation suggests not one officer even attempted to open the door until it was breached at 12:50. >> the officers had weapons. the children had none. the officers had body armor. the children had none. >> in addition, the texas tribune obtained this screen grab from a robb elementary school surveillance camera showing officers in the hallway at 12:04. according to documents obtained by the texas tribune, chief arredondo called at 11:40 a.m. saying we have him in the room. he's got an ar-15. he's shot a lot. they need

colonel steven mccraw said officers could have acted within 3 minutes and saved lives instead of waiting more than an hour last night, uvalde mayor don mcloughlin slammed mccraw accusing him of minimizing his own agency's mistakes that day. the mayor across officers and rangers were on the scene at robb elementary on may 24th when a gunman killed 19 children and 2 teachers uvalde as mayor also announcing that robb elementary school where all of that happened will be demolished. a new school will be built in its place. >> the mayor says you can never ask a child or teacher to go back into that school building. he did not say when the school would be torn down a similar situation happened after the sandy hook mass shooting crews demolish that school and build a new one in its place as well. >> a deal may the senate's now agreeing on a bipartisan gun violence bill teeing up the final passage as early as this week. the compromise bill includes money for school safety, mental health state crisis intervention programs and some incentives for states to include juvenile records in the national i

heard more testimony as they investigate the uvalde shooting a day after public safety director steven mccraw described the response as abject failure and blamed much of the blame on uvalde police chief pete arredondo from holding officers back from the classroom for more than an hour. arredondo said he didn't think he was in charge despite the school being in his jurisdiction. >> he failed us. >> at uvalde city council meeting last night friends and family of the victims were outraged at the political back and forth. -- his job. if he truly wanted to be respectful, he would step down. after choosing to wait an hour for backup instead of ordering scene officers to take down the shooter, he has proven that he cannot do his job. >> we deserve better. our children deserve better. and those teachers deserve better. >> everyone needs to be held accountable. pete for his inaction. every other officer who didn't do a damn t thing and all of you for standing adelly by while we beg for justice. >> director mccraw hasn't red to the uvalde's mayor accusations and dps hasn't respond to our request for co

during public testimony in the texas senate, steven mccraw, the state's director of public safety, blameddonda for the delayed response that it -- blamed pete arredondo for the delayed response that day. mike ross says are a donda -- mccraw says pete arredondo ordered officers not to breach the door. >> the officers had weapons, the children had none. the officers had body armor, the children had none. >> a>> surveillance image shows police officers in the hallway with rifles and ballistic shields. according to investigators, no officer breach the classroom door to take out the shooter until 74 minutes after the answer the school. transcripts show -- after they entered the school. transcripts arredondo . that claim was contradicted mccraw. >> the only thing stopping the hallway of dedicated officers from entering room 111 and 112 was the on scene commander. . he recently told the texas tribune they called >> for tactical gear and a sniper >> and saying they tried dozens of keys to the classroom door but none of them worked. mccraw says no one ever checked the door, which could not be lock

colonel steven mccraw, the head of the texas department of public safety slamming the local police in uvalde for failing to act for more than an hour. >> to say the lives of defenseless children. >> the only thing stopping the hallway of dedicated officers from one 11. and one 12 was the on scene commander. we decided place the lives of officers for the lives of children. mccraw calling out the schools chief of police, pete arredondo who allegedly told his officers >> to stand down. it's difficult because chief heard on those not here today. >> so came in the active in that way that i can understand the thought process of someone that made several decisions with the resources that >> he had not to advance into the classroom, take the shooter down and save the kids that were still a lot of tuesday's hearing laid out a series of issues to start once the school went into lockdown, it was impossible. >> because few doors could not be locked from the inside. the gunman walked straight through across as within 3 minutes of officers arriving. they should have entered the school and save thos

heard more testimony as they investigate the quality shooting a day after public safety director steven mccrawibed the police response as an abject failure and placed much of the blame on you. valley school district police chief pete arredondo for holding officers back from the classroom for more than an hour. arredondo claims he didn't think he was in charge despite the school being in his jurisdiction , he felt us valley city council meeting last night. friends and family of the victims were outraged at the political back and forth conflicting accounts and lack of answers they've been given a month after the shooting . many are also asking why chief arredondo still has his job if he truly wanted to be respectful. he would step down. after choosing to wait an hour for backup instead of ordering seen officers to take down the shooter. he's proven that he cannot do his job. we deserve better. our children deserve better, and those teachers deserve better. everyone needs to be held accountable for his inaction. every other officer who didn't do a thing and all of you for standing utterly by what

colonel steven mccraw, the head of the texas department of public safety slamming the local police in uvalde for failing to act for more than an hour. >> to say the lives of defenseless children. >> the only thing stopping the hallway of dedicated officers from one 11. and one 12 was the on scene commander. the decided place the lives of officers for the lives of children. mccraw calling out the schools chief of police, pete era, john doe who allegedly told his officers >> to stand down. it's difficult because chief heard on those not here today. >> so came in the active in that way that i can understand the thought process of someone that made several decisions with the resources that >> he had not to advance into the class for him, take the shooter down and save the kids that were still a lot of tuesday's hearing laid out a series of issues to start once the school went into lockdown, it was impossible. >> because few doors could not be locked from the inside. the gunman walked straight through across as within 3 minutes of officers arriving. they should have entered the school and

. >> reporter: pointing fingers at texas department of public safety director steven mccraw for giving information in the days after the shooting and accusing him of covering fofr his office. >> colonel mcgraw has covered to -- whether you want to call it lie, leak, to misstate information in order to distance his own troopers and rangers from the response. colonel mcgraw has an agenda and it's not to present a full report on what happened and to give factual answers to the families of this community. >> reporter: earlier tuesday it was mcgraw who unleashed stunning evidence. >> there's compelling evidence that the law enforcement response to the attack at robb elementary was an ak jekt failure? er one of the biggest failures, officers waiting. >> while they waited the on scene commander waited for video and rifles. and he waited for shields. then he waited for s.w.a.t. lastly, he waited for a key that was never needed. >> reporter: despite earlier reports from the "texas tribune" that school district police chief pete arredondo tried dozens of keys that failed to work, mccraw confirme

we already knew from sources that texas dps director steven mccraw was scheduled to testify and that he was going to be bringing in diagrams and going through the timeline. we have a picture of that timeline, jim and poppy. we'll be going through it to get specific details. >> can only imagine the parents' reaction seeing all this play out. rose a flores, thanks so much. >>> speak now to cnn security correspondent and former fbi special agent josh campbell. josh, it strikes me that the revelations today really greater detail about what we already knew, but that the police were armed, heavily armed, they had protective gear, those -- those ballistic shields and had them there early, right? within minutes of the start of this, and yet waited nearly an hour before going in. you were in the fbi, i just wonder how would the fbi handle a law enforcement response like this, given those three factors, they had weapons, protective gear, and time. >> problem mere is there isn't one problem. we have seen this seemingly avalanche of failure here, everything from tactics to leadership or lack the

. >> reporter: department of public safety director steven mccraw saying, as the incident commander during mass sooting at robb elementary school last month, the chief had no radio to communicate with dispatchers. adding officers wasted time by not immediately entering the classroom where the gunman was opening fire. >> chief, what do you have to say to the parents? >> reporter: he recently told "the texas tribune" he felt he was in an impossible situation and wanted to save as many lives as possible. overnight we did try to reach out arredondo and his attorney but have yet to hear back. today in austin there will be more testimony about gun safety and what happened in uvalde but just a reminder unless the governor calls a special session, it's all for naught. this hearing will be out in the public so people can hear what's going on and victims' families are expected to testify. a amy? >> all right, mireya, quite a day there, thank you for that. >>> now to the latest on the war in ukraine and the dramatic rescue of an american nuclear scientist after hiding for nearly four months in the ru

heard more testimony as they investigate the quality shooting a day after public safety director steven mccrawe response as an abject failure and placed much of the blame on you. valley school district police chief pete arredondo for holding officers back from the classroom for more than an hour. arredondo claims he didn't think he was in charge despite the school being in his jurisdiction, he felt us valley city council meeting last night. friends and family of the victims were outraged at the political back and forth conflicting accounts and lack of answers they've been given a month after the shooting. many are also asking why chief arredondo still has his job if he truly wanted to be respectful. he would step down. after choosing to wait an hour for backup instead of ordering seen officers to take down the shooter. he's proven that he cannot do his job. we deserve better. our children deserve better, and those teachers deserve better. everyone needs to be held accountable for his inaction. every other officer who didn't do a thing and all of you for standing utterly by what we heard and be