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Judge orders release of Uvalde school records, siding with news organizations

KVUE and other news organizations requested police body camera footage, 911 calls, emails, text messages and more related to the shooting.

AUSTIN, Texas — Several news organizations, including KVUE's parent company TEGNA, won a court battle over records related to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in 2022.

The judge's ruling requires Uvalde CISD and the Uvalde County Sheriff's Office to release documents within 20 days.

It comes nearly two years after a coalition of news organizations filed a lawsuit after our open records requests about the shooting were repeatedly denied.

RELATED: Former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo indicted on 10 counts of Endangering/Abandoning Child

RELATED: Former Uvalde CISD police officer facing 29 charges of Abandoning/Endangering Child

A total of 21 lives were lost inside Robb Elementary School and many others were injured in late May when a gunman entered the school and opened fire. Since then, details about the response have trickled out to the public.

KVUE and other news organizations requested police body camera footage, 911 calls, emails, text messages and other communications related to the shooting and subsequent investigation. Those records could give more insight into law enforcement's decision-making process during the mass shooting.

The group includes NBC News, The New York Times Company, Gannett, Univision, the Texas Tribune and others. Eleven TEGNA stations are also part of the group, including KVUE-TV, KHOU-TV in Houston, WFAA-TV in Dallas and KENS-TV in San Antonio.

Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell had opposed releasing the records, saying it would harm the investigation into the shooting. Last month, Mitchell announced a grand jury had issued a criminal indictment for former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo and UCISD police officer Adrian Gonzales.

The grand jury indictment is part of the broader investigation into who should be held responsible for law enforcement inaction during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.

Last year, a similar ruling from a Travis County state district judge ordered Texas DPS to release its records related to the shooting. DPS has appealed that decision and not yet released any records related to the investigation.

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