Surveillance video obtained by Texas media outlets Tuesday afternoon chronicles the law enforcement response to the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
Update 6:07 p.m. EDT July 12: The Austin American-Statesman and KVUE published edited versions of the video Tuesday afternoon to show how the law enforcement response unfolded.
WARNING: This video contains disturbing images and audio. Discretion is advised. The full edited video may also be viewed on KVUE’s YouTube page:
“Both media outlets have elected to release that footage Tuesday to provide transparency to the community, showing what happened as officials waited to enter that classroom,” KVUE reported.
The TV station provided the following breakdown of the events captured by the video:
- A truck can be seen crashing outside Robb Elementary.
- The gunman, 18, walks into the building and walks down the hallway to a classroom while carrying a long gun.
- Five seconds after the gunman turns the corner, a young boy enters the frame.
- The boy sees the first gunshots inside the school before running away, presumably unharmed. The shooter did not appear to see the boy.
- Between gunfire, screams can be heard from the teachers and students inside the classroom.
- The video shows the first armed law enforcement officers arrive in the school hallway three minutes after the gunman.
- The officers are seen running toward the classroom, but they take fire and retreat to the end of he hallway.
- In the video, 13 rifles can be seen arriving in the hallway in the first 30 minutes of the incident. The first shield arrives in under 20 minutes.
- Dozens of law enforcement officers can be seen in the hallway, along with equipment.
- No officers make entry into the classroom for more than 70 minutes.
Original report: Officials on Tuesday announced plans to release some surveillance footage taken of Robb Elementary School during the May 24 mass shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers.
Rep. Dustin Burrows, chairman of the Texas House committee investigating the shooting, said that the committee will meet Sunday with members of the community to give them “an opportunity to see the hallway video and discuss our preliminary report.”
“Very soon thereafter, we will release both to the public,” he said. “We feel strongly that members of the Uvalde community should have the opportunity to see the video and hear from us before they are made public.”
The Committee will convene at 2 PM on Sunday in Uvalde. We will meet with members of the community first, and provide them an opportunity to see the hallway video and discuss our preliminary report. Very soon thereafter, we will release both to the public.
— Dustin Burrows (@Burrows4TX) July 12, 2022
We feel strongly that members of the Uvalde community should have the opportunity to see the video and hear from us before they are made public.
— Dustin Burrows (@Burrows4TX) July 12, 2022
During a hearing Monday, Burrows said that the video to be released “would literally begin after the shooter enters the room and end before a breach of that room,” according to ABC News and KTVT. He added that Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin and officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety agreed to release the footage from the hallway at Robb Elementary School, according to the news stations.
Previously, Burrows said that he and McLaughlin wanted to release hallway video showing how law enforcement officers responded to the shooting. He said that the video would have no sound and “would contain no images of victims or footage of violence.”
To reiterate, the video (no sound) would contain no images of victims or footage of violence.
— Dustin Burrows (@Burrows4TX) July 9, 2022
In a letter shared Friday on Twitter, officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety declined to release the 77-minute video, citing an objection from the Uvalde County district attorney.
Yesterday, I requested a video (no audio) be made available as part of our preliminary report to allow people to see for themselves. It contains no imagery of victims or footage of violence. Today, we received this response. pic.twitter.com/xCR63uR7qJ
— Dustin Burrows (@Burrows4TX) July 8, 2022
The video shows the hallway of Robb Elementary School moments before an 18-year-old gunman, identified as Salvador Ramos, opened fire in a classroom at the school, according to KVUE. In the footage, law enforcement officers are shown entering the hallway about three minutes after the gunman. They run toward the classroom but pull back after being shot at, KVUE reported.
Authorities have faced criticism and questions about their response to the May 24 mass shooting. Col. Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, last told senators that there were enough authorities at Robb Elementary School to stop the gunman within minutes of the first shots fired on May 24, according to The Associated Press. However, armed officers waited in the hallway for more than an hour before they breached the classroom, the AP and KVUE reported.
Several investigations are ongoing.
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