Texas officials agree to release surveillance footage from Uvalde mass shooting

Texas state and local officials have agreed to release surveillance footage from the mass shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School in which 19 students and two teachers were killed by a gunman, ABC News reports.

The chairman of the special Texas House panel investigating the May 24 shooting, Texas State Rep. Dustin Burrows, assured the public that the video “would contain no graphic images or depictions of violence” during a hearing Monday in Austin, according to ABC’s report.

“I can tell people all day long what it is I saw, the committee can tell people all day long what we saw, but it’s very different to see it for yourself,” Burrows said during the hearing. “And we think that’s very important.”

Uvalde and state authorities been battered with criticism over their response to the shooting, and questions remain why police waited at least 77 minutes to enter the classroom and confront the gunman.

Elected officials including San Antonio U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and, more recently, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughin have accused the Texas Department of Public Safety of orchestrating a coverup in the weeks after the shooting.

Burrows didn’t specifically say when the surveillance from inside Robb Elementary School would be released to the public.

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This article appears in Jun 29 – Jul 12, 2022.