Uvalde, Texas school shooting: Off-duty CBP agent saves students, daughter after ‘help’ text from teacher wife

An off-duty US Customs and Border Protection agent saved dozens of children trapped inside Robb Elementary Tuesday after his wife, a fourth-grade teacher at the school, texted him that there was an active shooter, according to a report.

“Help,” she wrote, “I love you.” Jacob Albarado was getting a haircut at the time. 

He borrowed a shotgun from his barber, who came with him, and headed to where his wife and his second-grade daughter were hiding in the school, according to The New York Times. 

His daughter, 8, was locked in a bathroom and his wife was underneath a desk with her students in their classroom. 

News of Albarado’s rescue comes as questions surround law enforcement’s response to the shooting, including why it took an hour to kill the shooter. 

The suspected shooter was barricaded inside another classroom at the time with the 19 students and two teachers, whom he killed. 

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While a CBP elite tactical team was planning to take out the shooter, Albarado coordinated with other officers to get as many children out as possible. He started in the area where his wife had said their daughter was hiding, rescuing other children and teachers along the way.

Two other armed officers covered him during the rescue and another two helped the children and teachers to safety, the newspaper reported. 

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“They were just all hysterical, of course,” he said. When he reached his 8-year-old girl he hugged her and guided her to safety, then continued to help save others. 

Meanwhile, a Border Patrol tactical team moved in and killed the gunman about an hour after he entered the school, officials said.