This post on the school shooting in Uvalde contains frightening video footage, audio, and descriptions of the events that took place. It is best to exercise discretion.
After blasting rounds from his semi-automatic rifle outside the building and after urgent cries to 911 from both inside and outside the Uvalde school, the shooter marches into Robb Elementary School unhindered. This occurs mere moments after the gunfire erupted outside the building.
State and municipal officials have not, as of Tuesday, July 12, revealed video taken inside Robb Elementary School on the day that a young shooter, age 18, opened fire inside the building before taking refuge in a classroom, where he killed 19 pupils and two teachers.
Tony Plohetski, a senior reporter for KVUE, and the Austin American-Statesman were able to secure that footage. In order to give the public transparency and to demonstrate what transpired as officials waited to enter the classroom, both media outlets decided to share that film on Tuesday.
On May 24, a truck crashes in front of Robb Elementary School, and the 18-year-old shooter can be seen making his way toward the school. The shooter is then seen entering the school and making his way with a long pistol down a hallway toward a classroom.
The video reveals a small boy entering the frame five seconds after the shooter turns the bend.
The boy hears the school’s first gunshots before escaping, perhaps unharmed. According to the video, the gunman didn’t seem to notice the boy.
The shooter then starts shooting in the direction of the classroom before entering, as seen in the video. Screams from the teachers and pupils within the classroom can be heard in between gunshots.
The footage shows that three minutes after the shooter began his rampage, the first armed law enforcement officers arrived in the hallway of the school. The officers are seen attempting to sprint toward the classroom, but they are met by gunfire and are forced to retreat to the end of the hallway.
In the first half an hour of the incident, the video shows thirteen firearms being brought into the hallway. These rifles were brought in by different people. In fewer than 20 minutes, the initial shield will arrive. It is possible to make out dozens of police enforcement agents and their equipment scattered along the hallway.
Over the course of seventy minutes, no law enforcement official entered the classroom.
Public calls have been made for the release of the footage by Governor Greg Abbott, State Representative Dustin Burrows, who chairs the House committee investigating the massacre in Uvalde, Texas Department of Public Safety executives, and many of the families of the victims.
Burrows made the announcement on Tuesday through Twitter that he intended to release the footage after meeting with relatives in Uvalde the previous Sunday.
Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety Steven McCraw also issued a statement on Tuesday in response to the video:
“I am profoundly saddened that this film was released before all of the families who were impacted that day and the town of Uvalde had the opportunity to view it as part of Chairman Dustin Burrows’ plan. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.” Those who were going to be most negatively impacted ought to have been among the first to be informed. This video gives frightening evidence that the law enforcement reaction to the attack at Robb Elementary on May 24 was an unmitigated failure, as I described during my testimony before the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans. The attack took place on May 24, and Robb Elementary was the target. When one officer in law enforcement makes a mistake, it reflects poorly on all of us.
