The families of the victims of the mass shooting in May in Uvalde, Texas, have expressed outrage at the leaking of video footage showing the gunman entering the school and opening fire in classrooms. The video shows police approaching a classroom in Robb Elementary School shortly after the gunman but retreating back down a corridor after he shoots at them.
The police, some heavily armed, wait in the corridor for more than an hour before breaching the door of the classroom and killing the gunman. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the attack on the school in Uvalde seven weeks ago.
The video was published by the Austin American-Statesman newspaper in Texas on Tuesday, as some family members were in Washington DC meeting politicians. The families had been promised they would be shown the video on Sunday before it was scheduled to be released to the public by the Texas House of Representatives committee, which is investigating the shooting.
The footage is drawn from security cameras outside the school and inside the hallways, bodycam video from one of the police officers at the scene as well as material filmed on a mobile phone.
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The video shows the 18-year-old gunman walking calmly along the school corridor with his assault rifle pointed downwards. A child is seen peering around a corner at the gunman, who is farther down the corridor, before running away.
The video starts with footage of the gunman crashing a pick-up truck outside the school, then firing on two men nearby, who are not hit and flee. The gunman then enters the school property and begins shooting again. The footage includes audio of a teacher calling emergency services. The gunman then walks towards the classrooms and opens fire.
It shows a growing number of officers, from five different law enforcement agencies, gathering in the school. Some have rifles, helmets and shields. After 77 minutes, police break into the classroom and shoot the gunman.
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Parents of some of the victims expressed fury at the leaked video footage. Angel Garza, whose daughter Amerie Jo (10) was killed, said: “Who do you think you are to release footage like that of our children who can’t even speak for themselves, but you want to go ahead and air their final moments to the entire world? What makes you think that’s okay?”
Felicia Martinez, mother of Xavier James Lopez, said: “We are angry. We want justice for our kids. And for this to be let out without us seeing it first ... These were our babies that were taken from us. To the person that leaked it, screw you.”
Uvalde mayor Don McLaughlin said: “The way that video was released today was one of the most chicken things I’ve ever seen.”
The Austin American-Statesman on Wednesday said it had published the video “after long and thoughtful discussions ... We have to bear witness to history, and transparency and unrelenting reporting is a way to bring change.”
“The Statesman is publishing two versions of the video, one that we edited to just over four minutes and highlights critical moments: the ease of gunman entering the school, how he shot his way into the classroom, the repeated sound of gunfire and then the delay by police to stop the killer for 77 minutes as dozens of heavily armed officers stage in the school hallway before a group finally storm the classroom and kill the gunman.”
“We are also publishing the entire video for those who want to see what we obtained. In both videos we blurred the identity of a child who exits a bathroom as the shooter approaches the classroom. The child runs back to bathroom to hide and is later rescued. We also have removed the sound of children screaming as the gunman enters the classroom. We consider this too graphic.”
