Not all footage from the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting in 2022 was provided to news outlets as ordered by a court, according to police. An internal investigation has been launched to determine why this material was not initially disclosed until after a significant amount of audio and video recordings from the police response at Robb Elementary School, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers, were released over the weekend after a legal battle with The Associated Press and other media organizations.
The city stated that several additional videos were discovered after a Uvalde officer mentioned that some body camera footage from the tragic events of May 24, 2022, was missing from the original release. An internal probe will ascertain the cause of this oversight, identify those responsible, and evaluate if any disciplinary measures are necessary, as mentioned in a statement by Uvalde Police Chief Homer Delgado. The undisclosed video material has been handed over to the office of Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell for examination.
The Uvalde District Attorney’s office initially declined to release the information, prompting The Associated Press and other news organizations to file a lawsuit. This school shooting goes down in history as one of the deadliest in the United States.
The delayed response by law enforcement to the shooting has been widely criticized, as nearly 400 officers waited over 70 minutes before engaging the gunman in a classroom where numerous children and teachers were injured or killed. Families of the victims have been advocating for accountability regarding the sluggish police intervention in the South Texas city of approximately 15,000 residents located 80 miles west of San Antonio.
During the chaotic events, around 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents and 91 state police officers, in addition to school and city police, responded to the shooting. While terrified individuals sought help by calling 911 from locked classrooms, multiple officers hesitated in the hallway deliberating on their course of action. Outside the building, anguished parents implored them to rush inside.
Some of the distressing 911 calls made during the crisis were revealed over the weekend, with one teacher reporting “a lot, a whole lot of gunshots” while another instructor broke down in tears on the call as a dispatcher urged her to remain quiet. “Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!” cried one teacher before the call ended.