New Video of Uvalde School Shooting Raises Scrutiny of Late Police Response

Edited video shows police response to Uvalde school massacre 5:24 (CNN) — Surveillance video showing police response to the Uvalde, Texas school massacre offers the clearest account yet of how Agents waited outside a classroom as the gunman continued to fire, killing 19 students and 2 teachers, on May 24. The footage, published by the Austin American-Statesman newspaper on Tuesday, shows officers responding to the school approaching the classroom door just minutes after the shooter entered but backing away after the man fired at them. After more than an hour, as the hallway continued to fill with members of different agencies, police breached the classroom door and the attacker was shot to death. Local officials and families of the victims condemned the decision to publish the images before those affected could see them. And the video, which the American-Statesman lightly edited to protect the identity of at least one student and remove the sound of children screaming, still leaves unanswered questions. Specifically, why the police response took so long. ‘They didn’t move’ Surveillance video of the Uvalde shooting, obtained by the Austin American-Statesman, shows officers in the hallway of Robb Elementary School during the attack. “They just didn’t take action. They just didn’t move,” Uvalde County Commissioner Ronald Garza said Wednesday on CNN’s “New Day.” “I just don’t know what was going through those cops’ minds on that tragic day, but…they just didn’t take action.” The video also doesn’t answer the question of “who, if anyone, was in charge,” Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez told CNN on Tuesday. “Even if we see 77 minutes in a hallway, that’s not going to show us who was in charge or who should have been in charge. And I think that’s the sad statement of what happened on May 24, that no one was in charge.” he reflected. Gutierrez criticized the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for having a multitude of agents on the scene and still not taking control of the situation. The state agency has consistently named Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, chief of police for the Uvalde School District, as the commander on the ground during the attack. Arredondo was placed on leave as Police Chief of the School District in June. He has not made any substantive public statements about the decisions he made that day, despite the intense public scrutiny he faces. However, he did tell the Texas Tribune that he did not consider himself the leader at the scene of the shooting. This Tuesday, the Mayor’s Office of Uvalde accepted his resignation from the position of councilor. “There is no reason for the families to see” the video of the massacre in Uvalde The families of the victims stated that they were disturbed by the leaked images. They also noted that this is just the latest in a long list of instances where their wishes were ignored. Authorities say they planned to show the images to families this weekend before releasing them to the public. “There’s no reason for families to see that,” Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said of the leak. “I mean, they were going to watch the video, but they didn’t need to watch the shooter walk in or hear the gunshots. They don’t need to revive that. They have suffered enough,” he added. Authorities criticize early release of images Relatives of Uvalde victims outraged by video leak 2:10 The decision of the Austin American-Statesman newspaper, along with its television partner KVUE, to publish the images received harsh criticism from local officials. Authorities responded to parents’ concerns, saying that certain explicit images and audio should not have been included. “While I’m glad that a small snippet is now available to the public, I think it’s also important look at the whole segment of the police response, or lack thereof,” tweeted Dustin Burrows, a Republican state representative and chairman of the Texas House Committee on Inquiry. “I am also disappointed that requests for the families of the victims and the community of Uvalde to watch the video first. And that it didn’t have certain images and audio of the violence,” he wrote. What the video of the Uvalde school shooting shows In the first edited video, which lasts just over four minutes, the audio captures the screams of desperate teachers as the shooter crosses the parking lot after crashing his truck just outside Robb Elementary School, he then enters the school at 11:33 am, turns into a hallway carrying a semi-automatic rifle, walks into a classroom and opens fire. As gunshots ring out, a student who had peeked around the corner of the hallway where the gunman passed quickly turns and runs. Minutes later, officers run into the hallway and approach the door. They immediately retreat. at the end of the corridor when the attacker appears to open fire on them at 11:37 a.m. More law enforcement keep arriving and fill the corridor, but they don’t approach the door again until 12:21 p.m. Then they wait until 12:50 pm to break into the classroom and shoot the attacker. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin speaks during a city council meeting. A second edited video, running for nearly an hour and a half, was also posted on the newspaper’s YouTube channel. The footage was edited to remove the sound of the children’s screams, but loud gunshots can be clearly heard and the attacker’s face is briefly shown as he enters the school gates. “It is unbelievable that this video was released as part of a news story with images and audio of the violence of this incident without regard to the families affected,” McLaughlin said in a statement. Newspaper Defends Release of Shooting Video The American-Statesman newspaper defended its decision, with executive editor Manny Garcia writing in an editorial: “We have to bear witness to history, and transparency and relentless reporting are a way of bring about change”. McLaughlin also shared his disappointment that someone close to the investigation leaked the video. “That was the most cowardly way to get this video out today, whether it was released by the Department of Public Safety or whoever. It was very unprofessional in my opinion, which this investigation has been, in my opinion, from the beginning. first day,” he said during a city council meeting on Tuesday. What will happen after the publication of the video of the massacre in Uvalde? Despite the leak of surveillance video during the Uvalde massacre, the Texas House Investigation Committee still plans to meet with the families of the victims this Sunday and deliver an investigation report, as originally scheduled, a source close to the panel told CNN. The report will show that there was not an individual failure on May 24, but a large group mistake, the source said. Commission members also asked Texas DPS Director Col. Steve McCraw to testify for a second time Monday for clarity from his prior sworn testimony before the state House and Senate, according to the source. Meanwhile, some outraged relatives of the victims took to social media to urge the public not to share the video as families digest the images and police behavior they reveal. “PLEASE PLEASE DON’T SHARE THE VIDEO! We need time to process this!!” posted Berlinda Arreola, grandmother of 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza, who died in the massacre. Gloria Cazares, whose daughter Jacklyn was killed in the attack, also implored her family and her Facebook friends not to share the video. It’s “the opposite of what the families wanted,” she said. “If you are a true friend, do not share it, I do not want to see it on my social networks, nor do I want to be tagged in any of the news stations that share it. Our hearts are broken again!” Cázares wrote. The Uvalde School District scheduled a meeting for July 18, where McLaughlin said he hopes the City Council and the families of the victims can get details about going back to school. The School District previously announced that Robb Elementary School students will not return to campus and will be reassigned to other schools. CNN’s Steve Almasy, Andy Rose, Elizabeth Joseph, Taylor Romine, Shimon Prokupecz, Eric Levenson, Cheri Mossburg, Christina Maxouris, Mary Kay Mallonee, Vanessa Price and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.