Robb Elementary educator says she is ‘suffering mentally’ after police wrongly claimed she left a school door open

The Robb Elementary educator whom Texas law enforcement initially blamed for leaving an exterior door at the school open says she is “suffering mentally” after the shooting and its aftermath.

Emilia Marin spoke to ABC’s “Good Morning America” about the accusation from Texas police that a teacher had left open an exterior door at the school’s west entrance, allowing the shooter to walk in. Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw later said the teacher actually shut the door not knowing that it had not locked. 

“He said, ‘A teacher left the door propped open,’ and I looked at my daughter and I said, ‘That’s a lie,’” Marin told ABC News’ John Quiñones.

Marin said people in her community called for her firing after Texas police made that claim.

But McCraw in June outlined several school security failures that may have contributed to the tragic shooting, including that the exterior door could only be locked from the outside.

She said that the shooting and its aftermath left her with body shakes, anxiety, depression and a stutter.

“I am suffering mentally, of course, emotionally,” she said. “I still don’t sleep. I see those victims’ faces, I pray for them every night.”

June 21, 202203:39

New video footage shows that Marin did what she said she did, closing the door behind her after seeing the gunman, Salvador Ramos, walk toward the school with a rifle.

Initially, when Marin saw the gunman crash his car, she called 911 to get him help.

“My first thought was somebody had a heart attack, because he was coming like 80 miles an hour and then he hit the rail and then crashed into the ditch,” she said. “I’m running to him to help him.”

When Marin realized he was armed, she kicked away a rock that was holding the door open to close it as she ran inside, not knowing it wouldn’t lock behind her.

She then spoke to the 911 operator.

“As I’m running back, I tell her, ‘He’s got a gun, he’s shooting,'” she said. “The kids were playing outside in the playground over here and I see them running and screaming. And they’re coming in and I’m yelling at them, ‘Get in your rooms, get in your rooms.'”

ABC News reported that Marin, who is seeking therapy, said loud noises continue to scare her.