Through the Uvalde taking pictures, an off-duty federal agent’s spouse texted him for help. “I asked my barber if he had a gun,” he mentioned.

Jacob Albarado was in his barber's chair when both males obtained text messages concerning the taking pictures unfolding at Robb Elementary Faculty in Uvalde, Texas, final week. "There's an active shooter. Assist. Love you," Albarado's spouse Trisha said in three messages at 11:41 a.m.

She's a fourth grade teacher at the college, and their daughter is a student there.

"I requested my barber if he had a gun," Albarado, a U.S. Customs and Border Safety agent, informed CBS News on Wednesday. He had attended an awards ceremony at the faculty earlier that morning and was off obligation, along with his weapon at residence.

The barber did have a gun. Albarado took it, a shotgun, and so they rushed to the chaotic scene. Police officers had been already there, and Albarado began serving to.

"Kids are popping out the home windows," he said.

With folks fleeing to a funeral home across the street, Albarado stated he needed to get inside the varsity as fast as he could.

"I used to be acting as a husband and a father," he mentioned.

His wife let him know she made it to the funeral residence, but she informed him their daughter was locked in a school restroom.

"I did not know what restroom," Albarado said.

He ultimately realized his daughter was in a restroom positioned inside her classroom. Albarado met up with two officers near the classroom.

"We need to get the children out of right here," Albarado stated he told the officers. "… The shooter's over there. We need to get the youngsters out. That is our time."

The officers began opening classroom doorways, and Albarado mentioned he guided people to security.

"First classroom, second classroom, third classroom, noticed my daughter," Albarado said. "Relief. Massive reduction."

He hugged and kissed her, and shortly she was heading to the school parking lot.

While Border Patrol brokers have been on the team that breached the classroom the place the gunman was holed up, Albarado wasn't in that group.

"I didn't have my gear, and so it wouldn't have been a good move for me to get into the constructing," he mentioned. "I did not have my vest. A shotgun's not a adequate defense."

During a press conference final week, the top of the Texas Department of Public Safety stated the school district's police chief didn't initially send officers into the classroom where the gunman was situated as a result of he thought it was now not an active-shooter situation. The U.S. Justice Department is conducting a overview of the police response.

For his part, Albarado said he wasn't in a position to assess the response.

"I know my fellow officers," he stated, "and … to me, heart of hearts, I believe they were doing every little thing in their energy they could do."

Alex Sundby is a senior editor for CBSNews.com