AUSTIN, Texas – An official news source has released a portion of the 77-minute hallway video from the deadly Uvalde elementary school massacre back on May 24.
Republican representative Dustin Burrows previously indicated the video would not be released until families had the chance to review it, stating its anticipated release for this coming Saturday.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw also released a statement, saying he was “deeply disappointed this video was released.”
Despite the plan, the video was posted by Austin American-Statesman online on Tuesday.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin released a statement on Tuesday night in response to the video being shared.
“I am angry that the victim’s families and the Uvalde community’s request to watch the video first before it was made public did not happen. I share Representative Burrows’ disappointment and believe that watching the entire video of law enforcement’s response or lack of response is also very important to understanding what happened on May 24. Regardless, it is unbelievable that this video was posted as part of a news story with images and audio of the violence of this incident without consideration for the families involved. I continue to stand behind my statements that full transparency and consideration for the families remains the priority as it relates to this incident.”
Elected officials and others took to social media in response of the video.
Statement from DPS Director Steven McCraw on the release of video from Robb Elementary School: https://t.co/0IzFPDDTlw pic.twitter.com/iuM6T8ut55
— Texas DPS (@TxDPS) July 12, 2022
WARNING: New surveillance video released from inside Uvalde school was obtained by the Austin American-Statesman & KVUE.@Tom_Winter tells @HallieOnNBC:
— Hallie Jackson NOW (@HallieOnNBC) July 12, 2022
"This video, we're looking at it now of this child coming around the corner, parent to parent, is extremely difficult." pic.twitter.com/uoTCC0Yr1j
The committee is aware a portion of the hallway video has been made public. While I am glad that a small portion is now available for the public, I do believe watching the entire segment of law enforcement’s response, or lack thereof, is also important.
— Dustin Burrows (@Burrows4TX) July 12, 2022
NEW: The @statesman just published surveillance footage from the Uvalde mass school shooting, which shows police in ballistics gear waiting around in a school hallway and EVEN STOPPING TO GET HAND SANITIZER while children and educators were slaughtered. https://t.co/GJWZjMH9Y2 pic.twitter.com/IoUVFGgPdj
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 12, 2022
PREVIOUS REPORTING BELOW
The head of Texas’ state police met again Monday with a committee investigating the Uvalde elementary school shooting as anger over why officers waited so long to confront the gunman mounts among families of the 21 people killed inside a fourth-grade classroom.
Hundreds of people, including relatives of some of the 19 children killed, gathered and marched in Uvalde under searing 100-degree (37.78 Celsius) heat during the weekend in a renewed push for answers and accountability.
State police and an investigative committee formed by the Texas House say they want to release a 77-minute surveillance video of the hallway where police, armed with rifles and bulletproof shields, gathered during the shooting but waited more than an hour before breaching the classroom. But state police insist they can't because they don't have authorization from the district attorney in Uvalde County.
The investigative committee wants to include the video in preliminary public findings that could be made public later this month. Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Republican who leads the committee, said Monday in a tweet that he planned to show the video to Uvalde residents “regardless of any agreement.”
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Busbee has not responded to requests for comment about the video.
The committee says it has so far interviewed more than 40 people, including police who were on the scene. All the testimony has happened behind closed doors, which Burrows has said was necessary to elicit more candor from the witnesses.
Witnesses Monday included Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco and Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, who has previously met with the committee and has publicly called the law enforcement response an “abject failure."
Some Uvalde residents on Monday joined President Joe Biden on the White House lawn as he showcased a new law meant to reduce gun violence. It is the most impactful firearms-violence measure Congress has approved since the 1994 enactment of a since-expired ban on semi-automatic guns that were defined as “assault weapons.” Yet gun control advocates — and even White House officials — say it’s premature to declare victory.
“I’m using this pain to speak to you today as a Uvaldian,” said Dr. Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician in Uvalde who treated some of the victims. “And to speak for the parents and victims who seek the truth, transparency, and ultimately, accountability.”