New Surveillance video has been released to the public showing an inside look of Robb Elementary School on the day of the shooting.
The public is outraged at new footage that has been released to the public showing Uvalde Police standing in the hallways while an active shooter is inside Robb Elementary School classrooms.
On Tuesday, May 24, a mass shooting took place at Robb Elementary School leaving 19 fourth graders and two teachers dead.
Police are now facing public scrutiny as the exclusive footage inside the hallways on the day of the massacre show Uvalde police delayed response to stopping the gunman.
In this video, police were shown standing around for 77-minutes before taking any action against the gunman, though they were fully armed, trained and well-equipped to handle one 18-year-old gunman who held a AR-15 to carry out the shooting.
The officers appear to walk back and forth in the hallway, some leaving the camera frame then reappearing, others making cellphone calls, looking at floor plans, and one officer is even seen getting hand sanitizer from a wall dispenser outside the classrooms.
Even after hearing at least four shots from the classrooms 45 minutes after police arrived, they waited. No officers are seen entering the classrooms or even attempting to enter.
Uvalde parents are outraged as the video that has been publicly released was reportedly supposed to be shown to them first, and then aired to the public.
The leaked video was shared by the Austin American-Statesman and local ABC affiliate KVUE on Tuesday.
“Shame on you,” said Berlinda Arreola, the grandmother of shooting victim Amerie Jo Garza, addressing the news outlets that aired the video. “All you wanted was the fame and recognition to say you were the first person to leak that video without even taking any of the parents grandparents family members thoughts into consideration.”
Gloria Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter was killed in the shooting says, “It’s going to be in our social media forever, and not just us, for our kids at home,” said on TODAY Wednesday.
Uvalde mayor Don McLaughlin also expressed his displeasure at the leak following another highly charged Uvalde City Council meeting on Tuesday night.
“Whoever did it, it’s a pretty chicken (expletive) action in my opinion,” he told NBC News about the leak. “It’s cheap and degrading. These families have been through enough.”
The school district also released a statement.
“The footage is heartbreaking and we are deeply dismayed that the families that lost loved ones were not given the opportunity they deserve to view it privately before it was shared publicly,” the district said. “We continue to await the results of the ongoing investigation so that we, along with districts across the state and nation, can take informed action to enhance our ability to prevent future tragedies.”
According to Austin American-Statesman, The local, state and federal officials have denied requests to release documents that could shed light on the police response, including 911 call transcripts, body camera footage, communications among law enforcement officers and arrest records from that day. They have appealed to the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who will make final decisions on the records disputes.
The release of these documents could further bring clarity to the families of the victims and others in the community shedding light on what really happened during the Robb Elementary School Massacre.
On Sunday night, families in the Uvalde community rallied for greater gun restrictions, with some residents saying they no longer trust the local authorities and demanding answers.
