Leaked video footage from a hallway at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, reveals how police responded to an active shooter situation, even showing one officer stopping for hand sanitizer while the gunman was not yet in custody.
The videos showed the suspect walking into the elementary school unimpeded and soon after starting spraying bullets from his semi-automatic rifle outside the building. Several people from inside and outside the call made desperate attempts to call 911 to request for law enforcement to provide immediate assistance.
Leaked Surveillance Video
The gunman later slows down to peek around a corner in the hallway and flips back his hair before going toward classrooms 111 and 112. A few seconds later, a boy with neatly combed hair and glasses is seen exiting the bathroom to head back to his class.
As the unsuspecting boy begins to turn the corner, he notices the shooter standing by the classroom door and then firing his first barrage of gunfire. The young kid immediately turns and runs back into the bathroom to hide himself from the suspect, as per the Austin American-Statesman.
The gunman then enters one of the classrooms, causing children to scream, and continues to fire at helpless victims. The horrific tragedy went on for roughly three minutes before three police officers arrived in the same hallway and rushed towards the classrooms, crouching down. Then, a burst of gunfire could be heard as one officer grabs the back of his head, and all of them quickly retreat to the end of the hallway, just below a school surveillance camera.
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The 77-minute video recording captured the incident from this vantage point, along with body camera footage from one of the responding officers. The footage shows, in excruciating detail, dozens of sworn officers, local, state, and federal, heavily armed, clad in body armor, with helmets, some equipped with protective shields, walking back and forth in the hallway.
According to USA Today, despite hearing at least four shots from the classroom 45 minutes after police arrived, officers did not attempt to enter the classroom. They asked for keys to one of the classrooms, which was later found to be unlocked, bringing tear gas and gas masks and carrying a sledgehammer.
Uvalde Shooting Incident
After an hour and 14 minutes after arriving on the scene, police officers rushed into the classroom and killed the gunman. The tragic incident resulted in the fatal shooting of 19 school children and two teachers.
The video tells, in real-time, the brutal story of how heavily armed officers failed to immediately launch a cohesive and aggressive response to stop the active shooter and save more children if possible. The footage reinforces the trauma of the parents and friends of the victims and bystanders who were outside the school.
The release of the video has been the subject of intense scrutiny and debate as Uvalde police officers have changed their stories about the events of the shooting more than dozen times. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that the video needs to be released, including its audio, Yahoo Life reported.
Related Article: Texas Mass Shooting: Uvalde Mayor Says Robb Elementary School Will Be Torn Down, Vows Transparency as Investigations Further
