A mum who pulled her daughter out of school minutes before a gunman opened fire in a deadly shooting says she's been left with "overwhelming guilt" about the decision.
Salvador Ramos, 18, killed 21 people after bursting into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, armed with a handgun and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
Mia had taken her daughter Evalynn from class just minutes before with Evalynn's best friend Layla Salazar being slain in the attack.
Layla had begged Mia to be taken with Evalynn but Mia had to refuse as she didn't have Layla's parent's permission.
Thursday was meant to be the day Evalynn held an annual sleepover to celebrate the last day of school with Layla.
In the wake of the attack, Mia told the New York Post.: “I can’t eat, couldn’t think because of the overwhelming amount of guilt.
“I was able to take my daughter out, but what could’ve happened if we were there just five minutes later?
“There is so much guilt right now. My heart goes out to all of the families who are suffering. … And now we have 11 funerals to attend.”
Mia said they are related to four of the children gunned down by 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos.
Teacher Alfonso Reyes’s fourth grade class had just finished an awards ceremony when Mia opted to take her kid home for the day.
They left to go to Sunrise Restaurant following the ceremony and had sat down to eat when the shooting began.
They heard sirens tearing past the restaurant towards the school and a few minutes later, Mia received a robocall from the school stating that it was on lockdown.
Since the shooting the local police have come under strong criticism over their response.
There is fury among parents of the victims and other members of the public at what they see about the slow approach by the police to take down the shooter.
An hour is thought to have passed between Ramos entering the school and being shot dead.
In one video posted on Facebook by a man named Angel Ledezma, parents can be seen breaking through yellow police tape and yelling at officers to go into the building.
"It's already been an hour, and they still can't get all the kids out," Mr Ledezma said in the video.
Another video posted on YouTube showed officers restraining at least one adult. One woman can be heard saying, "Why let the children die? There's shooting in there."
