VIDEO: Uvalde, Texas school shooting body cam footage released
UVALDE, Texas - Officials have released body camera footage as the investigation continues into the response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that left 21 dead.
The hours of footage provides a further look at the chaotic response to the shooting where hundreds of law enforcement officers massed but then waited to confront the gunman even after a child trapped with the shooter called 911.
The footage was released along with an in-depth investigative report from the Texas House Investigative Committee (HIC). The more than 70-page report provides a detailed look at the timeline of the day of the shooting.
Rep. Dustin Burrows, Chair of the HIC on the Robb Elementary School shooting, summarized the report with three words – "multiple systemic failures."
"Here we’re starting with the facts, the most thorough and reliable report that’s been done on what happened at Robb Elementary," said Rep. Joe Moody, Vice Chair of the HIC.
The report and video shed more light on what happened in the nearly hour-and-a-half between officers' arrival and the takedown of the gunman.
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The gunman fired approximately 142 rounds inside the building — and it is "almost certain" that at least 100 shots came before any officer entered, according to the report, which laid out numerous failures. Among them:
- No one assumed command despite scores of officers being on the scene.
- The commander of a Border Patrol tactical team waited for a bulletproof shield and working master key for a door to the classrooms that may have not even been needed, before entering.
- A Uvalde Police Department officer said he heard about 911 calls that had come from inside the rooms, and that his understanding was the officers on one side of the building knew there were victims trapped inside. Still, no one tried to breach the classroom.
Michael Matranga, who handled a counter-assault team for the Secret Service, calls the recent report and footage of the incident "disturbing and frustrating" and that it all boils down to a lack of situational awareness.
"When you close the door behind you, you have to be consciously aware that that door closed. Did it close? Did it not lock? Is it faulty? Did it break? Someone needs to resolve it right now because something as simple as an open door may mean the difference between 21 lives lost or saved. And so everyone is responsible," Matranga said.
Following the release of the report, the acting Uvalde Police Chief was placed on administrative leave.
The Mayor says the City of Uvalde will conduct its own investigation.
"As Mayor of Uvalde, the city only has authority over its own police force, which is why I support the city’s decision to place Lt. Mariano Pargas on administrative leave and conduct a full internal investigation," said Mayor Don McLaughlin.