A video of Uvaldo elementary school has been viral and is the top social media debate today. Robb elementary school Uvaldo Texas cop slammed Tuesday’s of footage of the May 24 massacre in Uvalde.
A top Texas law enforcement official slammed the footage on Tuesday that showed police waiting to stop a gunman at a Uvalde elementary school in late May.
Uvalde School Shooting Video Goes Viral – Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas:
The four-minute-long harrowing clip includes footage from inside and outside Robb Elementary School on May 24.
The video, which confirms many of the details already given by Texas officials, begins from the moment the gunman crashes his vehicle near the campus. He fires shots at passers-by outside before entering the school building and strolling unchecked through the corridors.
Texas DPS Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said in a statement after the video was released,
“I am deeply disappointed this video was released before all of the families who were impacted that day and the community of Uvalde had the opportunity to view it as part of Chairman Dustin Burrows’ plan,”.
A gunman fatally shot 19 children and two adults. At one point in the video, a clip shows heavily armed police officers waiting in a hallway while the massacre unfolded.
Law enforcement in Uvalde has faced intense scrutiny in the wake of the massacre and has been accused of changing the narrative and timeline of how the shooting unfolded multiple times, leaving many across the community and country furious.
Uvalde shooting: Families express anger at leaked video of school attack:
Uvalde’s city council and some parents slammed the media for publishing the footage ahead of the scheduled release date in a few days. Some community members pushed back, saying the city should be attacking the police instead of the media.
The families of those killed in a mass shooting at a Texas school have expressed anger and outrage after a new video was leaked showing the attack.
The 82 minutes of CCTV footage from Uvalde, in which the ‘sweet and lovable’ children who died in Uvaldeublished shared by a local newspaper, shows the gunman’s arrival and police waiting 77 minutes to confront him.
one family member said at a press conference in Washington DC,
“Whoever le@ked that video… I pray that you never have to deal with what all the parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, and uncles are dealing with. Shame on you,”
Gloria Cazares, whose daughter was among the 19 children and the teachers who died trying to save their pupils in the shooting, urged people not to share the video.
“This is the opposite of what the families wanted,”
she wrote on Facebook. “Our hearts are shattered all over again!”
But other relatives expressed support at the release. Jesse Rizo, who lost a family member in the shooting, told local CBS affiliate Kens5,
“I am happy it is released. But I wish they would have waited until the family members got to see it beforehand,”.
Her husband Manuel said they had not watched the video, adding “it would anger us more than what we are right now. And we need to stay focused on what we’re doing”.
The Austin American-Statesman newspaper defended its decision to publish the footage in an editorial late on Tuesday. “Transparency and unrelenting reporting is a way to bring change,” it read.
“Our goal is to continue to bring to light what happened at Robb Elementary, which the families and friends of the Uvalde victims have long been asking for.”
Texas cop ‘disappointed’ that video of Uvalde cops idling was shared on the internet:
Before the video, Texas state politician Dustin Burrows had said there were plans to release the footage to the community before the general public. The video, however, was obtained and published by the Austin-American Statesman and KVUE.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, speaking at a town council meeting, called it “one of the most chicken things I’ve seen”.
“They didn’t need to see the gunman coming in and hear the gunshots. They don’t need to relive that, they’ve been through enough,” he said.
In response to the footage, Burrows tweeted he’s “glad that a small portion is now available for the public” but added: “I do believe watching the entire segment of law enforcement’s response, or lack thereof, is also important.”
But it was published days before officials said they had planned to show the families or release it publicly.
McCraw said,
“video provides horrifying evidence that the law enforcement response to the attack at Robb Elementary on May 24 was an abject failure.”
“In law enforcement, when one officer fails, we all fail,” he said.
It then shows a pupil returning to class from the bathroom. After spotting the gunman walking down the hall in front of him, the student freezes, turns and flees.
The screams of children are redacted throughout the video, but multiple bursts of shots fired by the killer are clearly audible.
Earlier in June, Mr Arredondo said he had not considered himself the commander and did not order police to hold back. He was placed on administrative leave last month and has since resigned.
Officials expressed disappointment over the footage, which a Texas state senate panel had planned to first show to the bereaved families on Sunday.
Video shows hesitant police response to Uvalde school shooting:
The first officers arrived in the hallway only three minutes after the assailant had entered the building, but even as several more gathered in the building’s corridor, none attempted to enter the classroom in which the gunman had barricaded himself with students.
Armed officers are also seen approaching the classroom where the shooting took place, but then retreat when gunfire is heard.
Officers who arrive later with tactical gear and other equipment also appear hesitant to confront the gunman. They eventually stormed the classroom and shot the 18-year-old dead more than an hour after he first opened fire.
Texas’ public safety chief Steven McCraw has said the on-scene commander, Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo, “waited for radio and rifles, and he waited for shields and he waited for SWAT”.
Mr McCraw has described the police response to the attack as an “abject failure” and said officers wasted vital time looking for a classroom key that was “never needed.”
