when the shooting began at approximately 11.20 am., the first responding Jefferson County patrol deputy came under fire from one of the gunmen outside of the school. the deputy returned fire, called for assistance, and watched the gunman enter the school. The other responding deputies, acting as they had been trained and consistent with the contemporary tactical training at the time, set a perimeter around the school and waited for the SWAT teams to arrive.
For the next 45 Minutes, the two gunmen had free rein in the school as the police forces gathered outside. at approximately 12.06 pm., two ad hoc SWAT teams began their movement from the command post to the large number of explosive devices encountered, the SWAT teams did not find the two dead gunmen in the school until approximately 3.30 pm., some four hours after the siege began.
the responding law enforcement agencies were crucified in the media for their collective response, or perceived lack of response. what the media and public did not understand, and many still do not understand, is that the first responders acted as they had been trained and conditioned. in hindsight, many of those first responding officers would probably say today that they would act much differently given the same set of circumstances.