Texas newspaper releases video of police responding to Uvalde shooting

A Texas newspaper on Tuesday posted a video of police and federal agents responding to the shooting at an Uvalde elementary school in May, footage at the center of a debate among state and local officials as they investigate the actions of law enforcement in the rampage.

The video, posted by the Austin American-Statesman on its website, shows the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, crashing his pickup truck and entering Robb Elementary School carrying a semi-automatic rifle. The sound of AR-15 gunfire is then heard for more than two minutes.

Police officers are seen arriving minutes later. They take cover at the end of a hallway leading to the two classrooms targeted by the shooter. Another 77 minutes go by before they storm the classrooms and exchanged fire with him.

Law enforcement officers are told to stay back as shots are heard down the hall during a police entry into the Robb Elementary school classroom in which Salvador Ramos was located in Uvalde, Texas, U.S. May 24, 2022 in a still image from school surveillance video obtained by the Austin American-Statesman newspaper. Austin American-Statesman/Handout via REUTERS.

The Statesman did not reveal how they got the video but published an accompanying note defending the decision to post it.

Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers at the school on May 24, one of the latest in a string of mass shootings across the United States that have renewed debate over gun laws and mental health.

Uvalde law enforcement officials have been roundly criticized for their handling of the rampage and especially for waiting more than an hour before confronting Ramos.

A report commissioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety found earlier this month that an Uvalde police officer could have shot Ramos before he entered the school but hesitated while he waited for permission from a supervisor.

Stephanie and Michael Chavez of San Antonio pay their respects at a makeshift memorial outside Robb Elementary School, the site of a mass shooting, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S., May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Nuri Vallbona//File Photo/File Photo

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, and a Texas legislative committee investigating the attack have called for the surveillance footage to be made public.

McLaughlin, speaking during a Uvalde City Council meeting on Tuesday, called it “wrong” and “chicken” for the newspaper to have released the video.

The committee has said that Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee objected to the release. Busbee and Abbott could not be reached for comment by Reuters on Tuesday.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said on Twitter that he was “deeply disappointed” by the newspaper’s decision to publish the video. McCraw said family members of the slain and wounded should have seen it first.