Uvalde funeral attendant who encountered gunman says he tried to go after shooter, police held him back

A Uvalde, Texas funeral attendant said police blocked him from entering Robb Elementary to stop the gunman during last month’s deadly shooting, NBC News reported.

Cody Briseno, who buried some of the victims, including a family member, who were killed during the shooting May 24th that left 19 children and two adults dead, was reportedly armed at the scene that day and wanted to go after the gunman. He told NBC News that a responding officer prevented him from going inside the elementary school.

“Hey, what are you doing,” an officer asked as Briseno began to march toward the school, he said. He recalls responding, “I’m going to go in and try to stop them.”

“I told him that he’s already inside the school,” Briseno said, per the outlet, adding that the officer allegedly told him to move away and “shut up.”

Prior to the shooting, police said the gunman shot his grandmother and then crashed his truck right outside the school that morning. According to NBC News, Briseno said that he and his coworker witnessed the gunman crawl out of the window following the crash.

“We locked eyes, and he gave me this vibe,” Briseno told the outlet. “At that moment, he looks right back to me … with that evil look, and I see is this rifle.”

When asked what the most difficult aspect of coping with the events of that day has been, Briseno said doing his job — burying the children — knowing that maybe he could have intervened. “It always plays in my head,” he said, when “I loaded those caskets down.”

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, whose officers responded alongside school police, city officers, county sheriff’s deputies and federal agents has said the delay in response was the “wrong decision.”

The DPS is investigating the police response as well as the motivation for the attack. The Justice Department said it will also review the law enforcement response.