More than two years after the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the city released bodycam and dashcam videos, audio recordings of 911 calls and radio communication, documents, and text messages related to the incident on Saturday.
Most of these materials had been previously reported by major news organisations. The files, some redacted, were released following a lawsuit filed by CNN and over a dozen other major news outlets seeking public records.
In one 911 call, initially reported months after the incident, a 10-year-old girl trapped in a classroom urged the police dispatcher to “hurry” due to the presence of “a lot of dead bodies.”
Bodycam footage shows Uvalde officers sobbing and vomiting after entering Robb Elementary School, where 19 students and 2 teachers were fatally shot. An additional 17 people were injured but survived. pic.twitter.com/30qWoGmnfd
— Bodycam Exposed (@bodycamexposed) June 2, 2024
The attack at Robb Elementary School resulted in the deaths of 19 children and two teachers, making it one of the most lethal shootings at a K-12 school in the United States. Law enforcement faced heavy criticism for their inadequate response to the May 2022 event. Despite victims being injured, it took 376 officers on the scene 77 minutes to confront and kill the gunman after he entered the school through an unlocked door. Over 90 Texas Department of Public Safety officers were among the first responders.
Among the hundreds of pages of text messages released, several show officers expressing concern for their safety in the aftermath of the massacre, as public outrage and national scrutiny intensified over the delayed response.
In the messages, multiple officers requested the removal of their photos from the department’s website, feeling blamed for the failed response.
One group chat mentions, “the DPS director just threw everyone under the bus..!!!” in reference to the Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“Is there a way to get our pictures off the PD website for our safety..?..take the website down,” an officer wrote.
In another text message, an officer questions whether their department Nixle account, a communication system connecting residents with public safety agencies, could be disabled. The police chief responded, “There is a work order for that already.”
The police chief also mentioned that “staff is asking if we can take their photos down from our fb (Facebook) page,” adding, “Command staff is worried.”
In a different group chat, officers reminded each other to rest and support one another.
“Anything I can do to help?” one officer asked. “Rest and relax,” another replied. “That is impossible,” the first officer answered. “Being at home I feel useless,” the officer added.
In a news conference after the mass shooting, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw stated that the on-scene commander made the wrong decision and did not attempt to breach the classroom quickly enough. He later said the first officers on scene, including local Uvalde Police Department officers seen communicating in the newly released texts, acted contrary to active shooter training by initially retreating and failing to regain momentum to neutralise the shooter.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has been contacted for a response to the officers’ comments.
Families of the victims expressed anger over the delay in releasing the documents to the public.
Brett Cross, whose nephew Uziyah Garcia, 10, was killed in the May 22 massacre, told The Associated Press that families were not given advance notice of the records being released but said it was long overdue.
“If we thought we could get anything we wanted, we’d ask for a time machine to go back in time and save our children, but we can’t, so all we are asking for is for justice, accountability, and transparency, and they refuse to give this to us,” Cross said.
Jesse Rizo, the uncle of Jacklyn Cazares, 9, who also died in the shooting, stated that the document release reignites anger because they highlight just how long law enforcement waited. “Perhaps if they were to have breached earlier, they would have saved some lives, including my niece’s,” he told the Associated Press.
In an interview this week, former Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo told CNN he felt he was “scapegoated from the very beginning.” Arredondo was indicted in June by a grand jury on 10 counts of child endangerment and criminal negligence for failing to recognise the incident as an active shooting and for failing to take proper action.
He pleaded not guilty to these charges last month, as previously reported.
Former school police officer Adrian Gonzales was also indicted on criminal charges related to law enforcement’s failed response to the shooting. Gonzales entered a plea of not guilty on 25 July.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions asked about this news
What new information was released about the Uvalde school shooting?
Bodycam and dashcam videos, 911 calls, radio communication, documents, and text messages were released.
Why did it take so long to release the Uvalde school shooting records?
Records were released only after CNN and other news organizations filed a lawsuit.
How long did it take law enforcement to confront the shooter at Robb Elementary School?
It took 376 officers 77 minutes to confront and kill the gunman.
What did the released text messages from officers reveal?
Officers expressed fear for their safety and discussed removing their photos from the department’s website.
What charges were brought against former Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo?
Arredondo was indicted on 10 counts of child endangerment and known criminal negligence.
