AUSTIN, Texas — KVUE and our news partners at the Austin American-Statesman have gotten a lot of feedback since we aired and released the surveillance video from Robb Elementary School's hallways on the day of the school shooting, including mixed reactions from the families of the victims.
Prior to releasing this video, we spoke to some of these families and explained what we saw and heard in the video. All but one told us they wanted this video released. Their only request was that the screams of children in the classroom be removed, to which we obliged.
This release comes after nearly two months of calls for transparency about what happened in that school and why law enforcement officers didn't break into the classroom sooner, as the video shows officers with rifles and shields waiting outside the classroom where the shooting happened for more than an hour.
Families of Uvalde victims spoke in Washington, D.C., and on CNN Wednesday morning.
"We were supposed to do this together first, not for the world. We're suffering and I know the world was suffering too, but these were our babies, our babies that were taken from us. So to the person that leaked it, screw you," said one family member.
"We've had multiple people tell us that they've never seen anything like this, agencies arguing fighting, pointing the finger at each other. Nobody wants to admit that they were wrong. But our daughter isn't here anymore, so we deserve to know what happened," said another.
Gov. Greg Abbott and the leader of the Texas Department of Public Safety both agreed the video needed to be released for the sake of transparency but released statements expressing disappointment that the Uvalde community did not see it first.
Survivors and families of victims from the Uvalde shooting and the July 4 Highland Park shooting marched to the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, pushing for change. Seven people were killed in Illinois after a gunman climbed to a rooftop, opening fire on a parade.
The family of Amerie Jo Garza told CNN that they're frustrated they still have questions about what happened to their daughter in Uvalde seven weeks ago while they quickly learned what happened in the Highland Park mass shooting after less than two weeks.
The Texas House committee investigating the Uvalde massacre is set to release its preliminary report on Sunday.
Our partners at the Statesman have also released a public statement regarding the video release, which can be viewed in full here.
RELATED NEWS:
- Uvalde CISD announces request to delay start of school, grade level alignment changes
- Uvalde mayor criticizes release of hallway video, calling it 'chicken' at heated City Council meeting
- Video: Hacen público el video de los pasillos de la escuela de Uvalde donde ocurrió el tiroteo
- Texas leader's new plan calls for armed guards in all school cafeterias
- Texas school marshals: A look at the program that trains teachers to carry guns at school