Uvalde Footage Divides the Town

Leaked footage

• Local media released portions of the footage before it was shown to the parents of victims of the shootings.
• The mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughin, called the decision to release the footage before parents could view it "one of the mosy chicken things I've ever seen."
• The city planned to release the footage on Sunday, but it was released yesterday afternoon by the Austin Statesman and affiliated ABC stations.

Truth revealed

• The footage shows the shooter entering the elementary school, unconfronted by a school safety officer. He then enters a classroom, and gunfire erupts.
• The footage shows the disappointing police response. Police retreat from the room when they hear another round of gunshots from behind the unlocked door. They loiter around the hallway, even after being equipped with body armor and shields.
• Police in the footage take calls and text, and one officer even stops to get hand sanitizer from a hallway dispenser while parents were handcuffed outside for trying to get to their kids.
• The police waited more than an hour to breach the room and confront the shooter.

Parent's dismay

• Parents of the victims were dismayed to see the footage circulating on social media and encouraged friends not to share it to protect other parents from seeing it for the first time online.
• Parents and local officials were also outraged that the audio, including sounds of gunshots, was included in the footage, which the families of victims watched for the first time alongside the general public.
• Parents and families of the victims will meet with Texas officials investigating the shooting later this week to hear their investigative report.