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Photos: NRA convention begins just days after Robb Elementary school shooting

A person wearing a hat and sunglasses holds a posters with red handprints
Protestors gather outside the NRA convention in Houston, held just days after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
By Times Photography Staff
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Children inside a Texas elementary school frantically called 911, begging for the police to save them, as a tactical decision by a commander kept 19 officers from storming a classroom in what a law enforcement officials acknowledged on Friday was a mistake in judgment.

“Of course, it wasn’t the right decision,” Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said at a news conference, choking back tears. “It was the wrong decision. Period.”

With 19 officers, McCraw said, there were “plenty of officers to do whatever needed to be done.” But the commander inside — Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde Consolidated School District chief of police — decided the team needed more equipment and officers to enter the classroom where the shooter was holed up. He said the team did not move to take out the gunman until a full Border Patrol tactical unit arrived.

Nineteen children and two teachers died in the massacre Tuesday.

Two protesters argue with a man
Protestors keep back an NRA supporter, right, at the NRA convention in Houston just a few days after the Robb Elementary school shooting.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Protestors shout and hold signs
Protestors rally outside the NRA convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Protestors carry a makeshift casket and signs
Protestors carry a makeshift casket outside the NRA convention in Houston.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Protestors shout while holding signs
Protestors rally outside the NRA convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Protestors yell at a man leaving the NRA convention
Protestors yell at a man leaving the NRA convention outside the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
Kymber Guzman, 8, signs a memorial for the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
A Robb Elementary school employee kneels at a memorial for the victims in Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday.
A Robb Elementary school employee kneels at a memorial for the victims in Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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A police officer guards the door at the Uvalde County Fairplex during a vigil to honor the victims.
A police officer guards the door Wednesday at the Uvalde County Fairplex during a vigil to honor the victims of the school shooting.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Alex Covarrubias carries a sign in town for the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Alex Covarrubias carries a sign in town on Thursday for the victims of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Family members place flowers at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on Thursday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A fourth-grade teacher at Robb Elementary School consoles her student after a vigil at the Uvalde County Fairplex.
A fourth-grade teacher at Robb Elementary School consoles her student after a vigil held Wednesday at the Uvalde County Fairplex in Texas.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A view from behind of a girl, left, and a boy leaving flowers in front of a brick wall with the words Robb Elementary School
Family members who lost a sibling in the school shooting place flowers outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 25, 2022.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A woman holds a boy's head in the crook of her arm
Adrian Alonzo is consoled by his mother during a vigil on May 25, 2022, at the Uvalde County Fairplex for the victims of the school shooting.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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Crowds seated indoors in the bleachers under a blue, red and white flag and the U.S. flag
Mourners gather May 25, 2022, at the Uvalde County Fairplex to honor the victims of the school shooting in Texas.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A woman has her arm around another woman as other people look on in the background
Friends Gladis Castillo, left, and Sandra Alvarez console each other on May 25, 2022, after a vigil at the Uvalde County Fairplex in Texas.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A seated woman with a hand to her face holds a picture of a girl with long dark hair and the name Nevaeh Bravo
Esmerralda Bravo holds a picture of her granddaughter Nevaeh, who was killed in the school shooting, during a vigil at the Uvalde County Fairplex in Texas.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
People holding hands look down
Mourners pray after a vigil on May 25, 2022, at the Uvalde County Fairplex in Texas for those killed in a mass shooting at a school.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A woman in a red top hands a vase with flowers and balloon to a man wearing a hat and khaki uniform
Amanda Welch gives flowers to an officer to place at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
A girl is comforted outside the Sgt. Willie de Leon Civic Center in Uvalde, Texas.
A girl is comforted outside the Sgt. Willie de Leon Civic Center in Uvalde, Texas, where grief counseling will be offered.
(Allison Dinner / AFP/Getty Images)
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A man in dark uniform with an outstretched hand, left, faces a man gesturing with his hand before people seated at a table
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke interrupts a news conference on May 25, 2022, being held by Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
A woman in a red top and jeans cries as she holds the arm of a man in dark clothes
A woman leaves the civic center in Uvalde.
(William Luther / San Antonio News-Express)
Men in dark police uniforms walk near emergency vehicles
Police gather near Robb Elementary School.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
A woman in glasses holds a hand to her face as she cries while standing next to an officer in dark uniform
A woman leaves the Uvalde civic center, where people gathered to learn information about their children and other loved ones after the school shooting.
(William Luther / San Antonio Express-News )
A crowd of people, some wearing reflective yellow vests, stand near a white emergency vehicle
Emergency personnel gather near the school.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
An adult in a T-shirt and camouflage pants has his arm around a girl in a T-shirt and jeans as they face other people
Families gather outside the civic center.
(Allison Dinner / AFP/Getty Images)
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A man in a dark suit reaches out to several women who are upset
Gustavo Garcia Seller, archbishop of San Antonio, comforts people outside the civic center in Uvalde.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
Law enforcement personnel are seen near long lines of emergency vehicles against a cloudy background
Law enforcement work the scene after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde
(Jordan Vonderhaar / Getty Images)
A woman cries and hugs a young girl while holding a phone
Distraught people embrace outside the Uvalde civic center.
(Allison Dinner / AFP/Getty Images )
Two armed people, with vests bearing the word Police, walk on a street
Police make their way near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, after a shooting there May 24, 2022.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
A man in uniform has his arm around a woman as they and another woman walk past law enforcement personnel in uniform
People leave the Uvalde civic center in the aftermath of the school shooting.
(William Luther / San Antonio Express-News )
Five men walk near law enforcement vehicles parked in front of a wall bearing the words Uvalde High School
Law enforcement personnel are seen outside Uvalde High School after a shooting earlier in the day at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
(William Luther / San Antonio Express-News )
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Two women embrace near another person
People react outside the civic center in Uvalde.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
People in uniform stand along a wire fence in front of a brick building
Emergency personnel gather outside Robb Elementary School.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
A man in helmet and vest holds the open door of a SWAT police vehicle
A law enforcement officer stands next to an armored vehicle outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, after the deadly mass shooting.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
A woman in a green shirt and jeans standing near uniformed officers speaks to a man as two young women look on
A law enforcement officer speaks with people outside Uvalde High School after the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
(William Luther / San Antonio Express-News)
A group of officers in police uniform, some drinking water, stand under a tree near a building with windows
Law enforcement personnel gather outside Robb Elementary School after the shooting.
(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)
An officer in uniform gestures as he stands in front of a police vehicle facing two women crossing a street
A law enforcement officer helps people cross the street at Uvalde Memorial Hospital in Texas.
(Billy Calzada / San Antonio Express-News )
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