Authorities in Texas are undecided about releasing footage related to the Uvalde Police Department’s widely criticized response to the mass shooting in May at Robb Elementary School, USA Today reported.
The video in question comes from a security camera mounted at the end of a hallway and records the 77-minute period between the first call to law enforcement regarding a shooting and the killing of the gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, by police.
According to the paper, which viewed the footage, the video features an armed Ramos walking into the back entrance, down the main hall and toward Room 111. Several officers attempted to return fire but were pushed back.
Later, the video shows Uvalde police amassing in the rear hallway, appearing to wait for backup as Ramos continues his deadly attack. The time interval: a little over an hour.
Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows, who chairs a panel investigating the shooting, announced Monday that law enforcement and local officials would release the security camera footage, according to The Hill.
Even after the Texas Department of Public Safety denied the motion by the lawmaker, Burrows reiterated that he would release the footage himself ”regardless of any agreement.”
”It is my intention to show the hallway video to the people of Uvalde,” Burrows wrote on Twitter. ”I will not release it to the public until the people of Uvalde have seen it for themselves.”
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin expressed support for releasing most footage related to the May 24 mass shooting, adding that he does not want any footage released ”involving the children,” according to ABC News.
Via Newsmax