MISSION LIBRARY #1 - UVALDE, TX 2022

WIKIPEDIA - RAMPAGE AT ROBB ELEMENTARY - LINK

UVALDE 2022 - In the rampage at Robb Elementary School in the small town of Uvalde in the US state of Texas on 24 May 2022, 19 schoolchildren and two teachers were shot dead and 15 other children and a police officer were wounded. The 18-year-old perpetrator, Salvador Ramos, had previously shot his grandmother and was eventually killed in turn by the police.

  • Target Group

    The target group is the police, rescue forces, hundred-man teams, LKAs, BKA and other armed forces who, due to their decentralised mission, could be put in a position to become first responders because of their location.


    In particular, it must be clarified if a situation of this kind takes place and, for example, customs forces are geographically closest. Do these forces intervene? What does this mean for coordination between them? Is the preservation of children's lives over-positive and does this ultimately require exceeding service instructions, orders and regulations if the basic competence for danger prevention is available?

  • Tactical Difficulty

    The tactical difficulty level is assessed as "normal". The offender is neither tactically competent nor does he have skills that make him superior. In terms of game theory, the offender is also at a disadvantage. Protective equipment results in a moderate danger to life. Due to the unclear situation of the children under the perpetrator's control at the beginning of the operation, a relevance arises here regarding the status of a potential hostage situation.

  • Emotional Difficulty

    The emotional difficulty of the scenario is rated as extreme, especially against the background of real livelihoods.

  • Focus

    The focus of the scenario is not to solve the situation tactically - but in the extended situation the conflict between deployed forces, emotional pressure and leadership responsibility. Above all, it is about how lower-ranking forces should behave in Life-threatening situations when leaders freeze or make decisions that can permanently shake confidence in the authorities.

Situation: Several callers report shots fired in the area of a primary school at 1130 hours. At least one perpetrator, who crashed his vehicle on the school grounds, presumably opened fire on the building and then entered it. The primary school is currently in lockdown.


There are about 200 students aged 6-12 and about 15 teachers in the school itself. Normal school routine prevailed


OWN FORCES: First available forces POLICE and RESCUE have been deployed to the school in the Red Area since 1135 hours. Other available forces are approaching under self-protection.  

MISSION: Own forces are deployed in a life-threatening situation to secure the school premises, arrest potential perpetrators and prevent fatalities.


IMPLEMENTATION: First forces on the scene take charge of the operation and search the scene for perpetrators.


SOP (Standard Operating Procedure): First forces also assume incident command duties at the same time.


They have reached the scene with their team in the VR and receive a situation briefing from the temporary head of operations. They prepare to solve the situation potentially inadequately equipped and in conflict with superiors.

Instructor comment:

In the real situation, responding forces from SHERIFFS, US MARSHALL and BORTAC (Border Tactical) more or less worked together. The main challenge was that shortly after arrival and during the search, first-response forces came under fire from the perpetrator and evaded under self-protection instead of attacking. This was followed by approximately 45 minutes of non-response (or preparation and attempted negotiation) by the leader on scene. At 1250 hrs, leader BORTAC (off duty at the time) decided to carry out the raid on the classroom, presumably against the deployment order of the leader on the ground. During the subsequent raid, the perpetrator was fatally wounded. 19 children and two teachers are killed.


Instructor Learnings:

In life-threatening situations, it is essential to avoid forces with different competencies getting in each other's way. A great danger of life-threatening situations is that leaders or forces who are considered to be sovereign and who are first on the scene and thus have leadership responsibility, can freeze due to the real danger to life and make no or inappropriate / insufficient decisions. It has to be practised on site by all participants that in case of an emergency the leadership power is taken to lead accordingly in a clear, unambiguous way and from the front. Furthermore, the preparation of one's own equipment is relevant for life-threatening situations- e.g. with ballistic shields.

In the USA, the situation had far-reaching consequences: For example, parents tried to enter Thompson Ranch Elementary School during a rampage lockdown in order to save their children themselves. In the process, they confronted BOS forces so that arrests had to be enforced with distance electro-pulse devices. Further erosion of the relationship of trust must be avoided at all costs.