UVALDE, Texas — Texas lawmakers are hoping unreleased surveillance video captured the day of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School will be released within the next week.
State Rep. Dustin Burrows, chairman of the House Investigative Committee on the Robb Elementary School shooting, has been demanding the video from the hallway, showing what happened that day, be made public.
One of the Burrows' staffers told KHOU they’re waiting on the Uvalde District Attorney to give the OK to release the video. Burrows hopes to attach the hallway video to the committee 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, and we think that’s very important and we’ll continue to put pressure on the situation and consider all options in making sure that video gets out for the public to view," Burrows said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott want the video released too.
"At this time, that video needs to be released, as well as the audio," Abbott told our sister station, KVUE in Austin. "So there's both audio and video of exactly what happened in that school and everything that does not contain images of those who lost their lives and the victims should be released to the public. As you know, reporters have seen it. Stories have been written about it. There is no law enforcement reason that I can see of why that video should not be released."
If and when the hallway surveillance video is released, it will provide the best insight yet into what happened inside Robb Elementary on the day of the shooting.
Several KVUE staff members have seen the video and reported it shows more than an hour of law enforcement inaction.
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According to KVUE, the video starts by showing a truck crashing outside the school and the 18-year-old shooter walking onto campus.
The gunman was then seen walking down the hallway to a classroom with a long gun in his hands.
Five seconds after he turns the corner, a young boy can be seen coming into frame. That student sees the first gunshots in the school, but runs away.
KVUE reported the shooter appears not to have seen him based on the video.
The video then shows the gunman open fire toward the classroom before he walks in. Between the pauses of shooting, screams were visibly heard from the children and teachers inside.
Three minutes after the shooter walked into the school, the first officers arrived in that hallway.
Initially, the video shows the officers running towards the classroom but they take fire and end up back at the end of the hallway.
According to KVUE, 13 rifles can be seen arriving in the hallway in the first 30 minutes of the incident.
The first shield arrives in 20 minutes.
Dozens of officer are seen standing in the hallway, but not one of them made entry for more than an hour, KVUE reported.
Families of the victims are already outraged about the law enforcement response that day. The video will document law enforcement's actions in real-time and show what DPS has called "an abject failure."
"They took 77. I love my brothers in blue, but this is like any profession, you know, this profession is not made for everybody, you know, it's fine and dandy, you know, you graduate from the academy, get the badge, but when it's time to suit up, when and stare death in the face, they went weak in the knees," said Marcus Lozano, the brother of Robb Elementary victim Irma Garcia.
If and when the video is released, it will not contain any graphic images or depictions of violence.