In an exclusive interview with CNN, Gutierrez was asked if she agreed with legislative report that mentions “culture of non-compliance with safety politics” at school.
“Absolutely not,” Gutierrez said. in response.
“Every time the alert comes out, every teacher on this campus took this means that this could be a potential escalation of the situation,” she said.
Gutierrez said she initiated the lockdown immediately with app called Raptor after learning that an armed man had jumped over a school fence.
“I feel like I followed the training I was given with to best of my abilitiesshe said when asked if she felt should To lose a job. “And I will second guess yourself for rest of my life.”
Department of Texas of Director of Public Safety Colonel Stephen McCraw last Month called the police response “disgusting failure”He laid the only blame for in failure engage in combat with the shooter on School District Police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, who officials have determined on- stage commander
Arredondo, who is on unpaid administrative leave, previously stated that on that day he did not consider himself an emergency commander.
When asked about the delay of law enforcement agencies in when confronted by the shooter, Gutierrez said she was upset but not in nitpicking position.
“I am not a law enforcement officer and cannot pass court and tell them how do your work, just like I wouldn’t ask them to tell me how make your own,” she said. – I don’t feel like in guilty attitude anyone.”
Gutierrez added”I would blame that out of My Circle of control, that is, I cannot legislate. So I can’t, I can’t decide how you must be old purchase firearms. i can’t decide how a lot of rounds of ammo someone can purchase. I can’t define amount of the security we have available on campus”.
The principal had the impression that all my staff and students were safe.
The director said she prayed during the ensuing gunfight and siege.
“I wanted It’s safe for everyone to get out,” she said. – I don’t want leave until I’m sure everything of my staff and all of my students were out and safe. Until that very last At that moment, I still had the impression that my staff and my students were safe.”
School board not comment on leave her at the meeting on Monday. Gutierrez who started as a fourth grade teacher in 2008, worked for Uvalde CISD for more than two decades.
In a letter to members of The House committee that investigated the shooting, Gutiérrez disputed several of their conclusions. She said the door to room 111… one of The two classrooms in which the victims were killed were checked by the prison staff every evening, including the night before the execution. She is also wrote that she did not remember of teacher in this room is complaining about the door not locking, according to a letter released by her lawyer on Wednesday.
“What am I know for a fact this is the door to room 111 in fact castle, she said. in interview. “AND reason I know that is, we are regular walk goes through of campus and I myself used my master key open this door.
Arnulf Reyes, who learned in room 111, told CNN that Gutierrez’s statements in her letter about the door locking mechanism is not entirely accurate. He said he wasn’t complaining about the door being locked, but about the door jamming or jamming during the day.
Reyes said he complained several times that the door was stuck. times over three years. Reyes said the door was locked during the day and was usually locked when he came to school. Asked if he remembered the door was locked that day of shooting, Reyes said he didn’t remember.
Gutierrez in her letter is acknowledged problems with spotty Wi-Fi in Robb. She wrote that she use PA system day of shooting because her training was like that use can create panic. She denied the existence of culture of complacency” at school and said it was “unfair and inaccurate” to conclude that she was complacent about safety.
Gutierrez said in the letter she’ll live with in horror of these events for rest of my life” and that she wants to keep her job “to be on front lines help children who survivedfamily of everyone suffered and the whole Uvalde community.”
State Representative Dustin Burroughs, chairman of the committee, said in a statement that he did not receive Gutiérrez’s letter.
“The committee relied on the testimony of interview of several employees of Uvalde CISD (including staff and administration) and Uvalde CISD Police Department in coming to their conclusions related to practice, took place at Robb Elementary School,” Burroughs said.
representative for Uwalde Unified Independent School District, citing a large number of of media requests, asked for at least two days to respond.
Report says director and administrators knew about the faulty lock
Gutiérrez’s leave came as Uvalde officials tried to placate the frustrated parents about safety of them children when classes resume.
The report states that Gutiérrez and the school administration knew the castle in order to one of the classrooms where the murders took place are not work right and failed to repair it.
Day of shooting, Gutierrez was in her office after the awards ceremony and tried to initiate a lockdown on Raptor app, but “was difficulty issue a warning because of a bad WiFi signal”according to the legislative report. She also didn’t try to “report blocking warning over intercom of the school,” the message says.
School personnel “Frequently opened doors and deliberately bypassed locks,” the legislature’s report said. This behavior was “tacitly indulged” by the school administration and district police — and are not considered “serious offences”.
Locking doors like required could slow down the shooter”progress for a few precious minutes is enough to receive alerts, hide children, and lock doors; and long enough to give police more the ability to attack and stop the attacker before he kills 19 students and two teachers, ”the Texas House report says.
Legislators also condemned the police response and failure of school officials and others to heed the many warning notes about the shooter. Their report states that state and federal officials on the scene was equally guilty for delay in meeting with the shooter.
Rosalina Nieves Raja Razek of CNN, Amanda Musa and Brad Parks contributed to this report.
