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By Dan Donahue

Good Thursday afternoon. Questions are mounting over the police response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School, a massive fire erupted aboard a Carnival Cruise ship, and actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with sexually assaulting three men in the U.K.

Here is what’s in our Nightly Rundown.

Shooter was inside Texas school approximately an hour

The 18-year-old shooter who killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary entered the school unobstructed, and was inside for approximately an hour before he was killed by officers, the Texas Department of Public Safety said this afternoon.

No armed resource officer was on campus, said Victor Escalon, DPS South Texas Regional Director, despite statements by the DPS Director Steven McCraw on Wednesday that a school officer had “engaged” the shooter before he entered the school in Uvalde.

Escalon said it appears the shooter was able to get inside the school “unobstructed” through an unlocked door.

Newly-surfaced video appears to show the gunman entering the building, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Once the shooter locked himself inside the classroom, it took approximately an hour for a Border Patrol tactical unit to arrive and kill him.

The officers had trouble breaching the door, and had to wait for a master key from the principal to unlock it, state and federal law enforcement officials said.

Police are facing mounting scrutiny over the timeline of their response, after videos emerged showing parents pleading with officers outside the school to enter the building.

“Go in there! Go in there,” a woman shouted at officers after the attack began, witness Juan Carranza told the Associated Press.

In a new statement today, Uvalde Chief of Police Daniel Rodriguez said the department’s officers “responded within minutes alongside Uvalde CISD officers.”

The NRA will hold its annual convention beginning Friday in Houston, less than 300 miles from the site of Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School.

In a statement Wednesday, the NRA condemned the “horrific and evil” shooting, calling it the work of a “lone, deranged criminal,” while confirming the event will be held as planned.

“As we gather in Houston, we will reflect on these events, pray for the victims, recognize our patriotic members, and pledge to redouble our commitment to making our schools secure,” the group wrote.

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the meeting tomorrow, though guns and other weapons will be banned during his appearance at the behest of the Secret Service, the NRA said.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said today that he will be at the event. Gov. Greg Abbott is also scheduled speak, but he has not confirmed whether he will attend.

Singer Don McLean, of “American Pie” fame, was scheduled to perform, but he has canceled in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.

“In light of the recent events in Texas, I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week,” McLean said in a statement.

NRA pushes forward with Houston event in wake of Texas school shooting

A Carnival cruise ship caught fire while it was docked in Grand Turk this morning, the company said.

Videos and images posted on social media show smoke and flames billowing from the ship’s funnel.

The ship’s emergency response team was “quickly activated” and extinguished a fire, the company said in a statement.

All passengers and crew members are safe, the ship’s guest were taken ashore, the company said.

The ship set sail from Port Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida, on Monday for a five-day cruise, the company said.

Ray Liotta, the actor who starred in such classics films as “Goodfellas” and “Field of Dreams,” has died at 67.

Liotta died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting his latest movie “Dangerous Waters,” according to his publicist.

In his four-decade career, Liotta was known for playing tough guys on both sides of the law, including his iconic turn as real-life mobster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “Goodfellas.”

Liotta also had memorable roles in “Something Wild,” which earned him a Golden Globe nomination, as well as “Cop Land,” “Hannibal,” “Wild Hogs,” “Marriage Story,” and “The Many Saints of Newark.”

His cause of death was not immediately known.

Former President Trump and his two eldest children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump, must testify under oath in the New York attorney general’s civil tax fraud investigation into Trump’s business practices, at state appeals court has ruled.
Actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with sexually assaulting three men in the U.K. between 2005 to 2013. NBC News has reached out to the Spacey’s representatives for comment on the charges.
The CDC has now identified nine cases of monkeypox in seven states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
The national average price for a gallon of regular gas has hit a new record of $4.60, just as millions are about the hit the road for the Memorial Day weekend.

Watch us this evening at 6:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. CT on NBC, or check your local NBC station listing. After the broadcast, access Nightly News video on NBCNightlyNews.com or the NBC News app.

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