Upon viewing an unreleased video that shows police officers waiting in the corridor of Robb Elementary School for more than 80 minutes. It is prior to actually trying to enter a lecture hall where a shooter killed 21 students and teachers. The residents in Uvalde, Texas are voicing their outrage, while local officials are criticizing its early publication.
The Police Officers Lingering Video
Besides the Austin American-Statesman and KVUE, they published the video on Tuesday. For the first time, a Texas House of Representatives investigation committee plans to release it to the public this weekend, along with a preliminary investigative report, after showing it to the families of the victims. City officials told the Uvalde City Council on Tuesday that the first 82 minutes of the video, in which the gunman storms into the school and begins firing, was never meant to be released to the public.
As Mayor Don McLaughlin put it, “Yes, I want the video released, but…they didn’t have to see the gunman coming in and hearing those shots.”
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Statesmen Copy Of The Video: What Does It Show?
While we can hear gunfire in the Statesman’s video, the paper noted that it had edited out the sounds of children screaming in the video. In an online story published on Tuesday, the newspaper’s editor explained why they posted the video. This is because “we have to bear witness to history, and transparency and unrelenting reporting is a way to bring change.” “We consider this too graphic,” he said, to include the screams of children in the article.
Exclusive: New video, obtained by @statesman and @KVUE, shows the Uvalde gunman enter Robb Elementary School and the arrival of heavily armed officers who delay confronting shooter. https://t.co/LbLFzCXDk5
— Austin Statesman (@statesman) July 12, 2022
The Timeline And The Delays
There are at least a dozen officers moving towards the classroom two minutes after police arrive on the scene.
“They’re making entry,” we can hear a police officer saying. Even so, they don’t
At 12:30 p.m., an officer in a ballistic helmet and vest stops to sanitise his hands with a wall-mounted dispenser. In the meantime, a group of armed police officers walk around and discuss the classroom doors and windows. I haven’t given up looking for the keys. One officer finally brought A sledgehammer out. Audio from security cameras is distorted at times, but we can hear clearly it in a crowded hallway.
There is a man who arrives at 12:41 with his neck wrapped around his stethoscope and a blue rubber glove on his hands. A second group of paramedics shows up with more supplies. Two uniformed officers give each other a fist bump.
There’s a small group of police standing guard outside the classroom at 12:50 p.m. The video cuts off with a burst of gunfire. According to reports, a Border Patrol agent shot and killed the gunman. In order to determine how many victims died after police arrived, an Austin-based medical expert will conduct an analysis.
Reaction Of The Locals
Unsurprisingly, one member of the audience suggested the protesters focus their ire on law enforcement instead. Other members of the audience cheered and applauded when another man said that police officers have a duty to speak up. Also, they should be open about everything even if they don’t have the authority to do so.
