Uvalde mayor supports release of mass shooting hallway videos
The mayor of Uvalde, Texas, suggested on Saturday that there is body camera and hallway video that shows the "vast array" of officers that responded to the incident and will contradict misconceptions that Uvalde police were the only ones inside with weapons.
Mayor Don McLaughlin believed releasing the video will help families understand what really happened inside and provide transparency to everyone.
He does not want to release audio from inside the classroom or anything after the breach to be released. He does not want to exploit the deaths of these children or the loss and pain all families have endured.
He, again, suggested that the district attorney is trying to confuse families and keep any video from being released to protect certain law enforcement agencies.
The final decision to release the videos belongs to Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee.
The mayor further said on Saturday that Uvalde district attorney was not “telling the truth,” in a press release about his position.
“I have stated before and continue to assert that I have never wanted any video or audio released involving the children,” the statement read.
McLaughlin said in a press release Friday that he supported The Texas House special committee investigating the Robb Elementary School shooting releasing the 77-minute hallway videos.
It is still to be determined when the videos will be released which will show the breach that took place on May 24 when a gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers.
The mayor said that the release of these videos would “bring clarity to public, to the families, and to the survivors,” according to the press release.
The Texas House Committee will meet again Monday morning at 10:00 am ET to hear testimony from Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw and Uvalde Sheriff Ruben Nolasco.
It has been more than six weeks since the massacre at the elementary school and there have been questions about the response of the police before they breached the classroom where the gunman was as it took 77 minutes from the time the shooter entered the school to when he was killed by officers.
A report from the Texas State University's Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training released earlier in the week said there were missed opportunities to save lives and that one officer saw the shooter outside the school but did not take action.
The "officer did not hear a response [on his radio] and turned to get confirmation from his supervisor. When he turned back to address the suspect, the suspect had already entered the west hall exterior door at 11:33:00," according to the assessment.
McLaughlin disputed the report on Friday.
“Ultimately, it was a coach with children on the playground, not the shooter," McLaughlin said in a statement.
Uvalde:365 is a continuing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it forges on in the shadow of tragedy.
Mireya Villarreal contributed to this report.
