On Monday, state and local officials announced that they will release the footage documenting how cops stood back for 77 minutes as a school shooter stalked across the parking lot at Robb Elementary School and broke into the building carrying a rifle.
The footage has not yet been released to the public, but KVUE reports that the video begins when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos crashed his truck in a ditch outside of the school on the morning of May 25 and entered the building carrying an AR-15 that left 21 dead.
According to Axios, Uvalde Police hired a lawyer to stop the release of the surveillance footage to the public, citing that it could be emotionally distressful and embarrassing.
In a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the city’s lawyer Cynthia Trevino argues that Uvalde should not have to release the footage because some records could include “highly embarrassing information.”
However, State Rep. Dustin Burrows, the chairman of a Texas House committee investigating the Uvalde school shooting looks poised to defy Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee.
On Tuesday, Burrows said that he will show the video footage to the families of the victims and then release it to the public on Sunday.
The video has been edited to remove footage of the shooter opening fire and of police charging him. It shows law enforcement in the hallways of the school.
“This video would be of the hallway footage from Robb elementary school… it would contain no graphic images or depictions of violence,” Burrows said.
Here are Chairman Burrows’ full comments on the special Texas House committee’s preliminary report and the video from Robb Elementary they hope to make public. #Uvalde #txlege @KHOU pic.twitter.com/XWf0A0C2nJ
— Adam Bennett (@AdamBennettKHOU) July 11, 2022
Burrows plans to hold a meeting with families Sunday afternoon to show them the video footage. Then, later in the day, he will release it to the public.
“We feel strongly that members of the Uvalde community should have the opportunity to see the video and hear from us before they are made public,” Burrows said on Twitter.
The Committee will convene at 2 PM on Sunday in Uvalde. We will meet with members of the community first, and provide them an opportunity to see the hallway video and discuss our preliminary report. Very soon thereafter, we will release both to the public.
— Dustin Burrows (@Burrows4TX) July 12, 2022
It’s a bold move to defy the county district attorney but it’s understandable, given the passage of time that has occurred.
Burrows said the public has questions not being answered and they need to see for themselves what happened and why police waited over an hour in that hallway before moving into the classroom.
UPDATE: Four of the 77 minutes of video from inside Robb Elementary was obtained late this afternoon and are now circulating on various outlets. In the video obtained by the Austin American-Statesman, you can see police going into the hallway with their guns drawn.
Watch the full footage here: AustinAmericanStateman/Youtube
Sources: TheGatewayPundit, Texas Tribune, Axios, KVUE, San Antonio Express-News