In newly released video from two Texas news outlets, a surveillance camera captured the Uvalde school shooter entering the school then classroom where 19 children and two teachers would die. The video shows in real-time the shooter entering the school, turning the hallway and facing a classroom.
A chilling moment depicted a child turning in the hallway as the gunman begins shooting into a classroom. The child then ran away.
Shots could be heard ringing out in the original video released by the Texas newspaper The Austin Statesman Tuesday. Police can be seen outside the classroom three minutes after the shooting began, but it would take more than 70 minutes for law enforcement to enter and kill the shooter. The police response has been greatly under fire since the shooting happened. Several different accounts of the shooting have been reported, making it unclear to officials and the community what happened inside the school’s hallway. The video was released to bring clarity.
The release of the video has caused controversy. At a city council meeting in Uvalde Tuesday night, opinions about the release were loudly expressed by council members and the crowd. People overwhelmingly were in favor of the video being released.
“The people want to see it,” Adam Martinez, who attended the meeting, said. “The parents want to see it. I want to see it. You know, just to make sure that we hold everybody accountable.”
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has advocated for full transparency to better understand what went wrong in the Uvalde school shooting and what can be taken away from the tragedy.
“The public has a right to know,” Gov. Abbott said. “The people of Uvalde have a need to know exactly what happened. Everyone has a right to make sure everyone knows 100% of the facts. I’m on the side of full disclosure.”
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said families of victims should have been able to watch the footage first before being publicly released.
A state-level investigation into the shooting is ongoing.