After a three-year legal battle, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District is expected to release records Monday related to the 2022 mass shooting that killed 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas.
Local officials came under widespread criticism for the delayed response to the massacre at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. None of the 376 law enforcement officers who responded to the scene confronted and killed the assailant until 77 minutes after the gunman entered.
During that time, wounded children were trapped inside a classroom with the killer. Students hid near their dead classmates. At least one child called 911 begging for help as dozens of officers stood in the hallway.
For months, officials repeatedly changed their stories about what happened or who was to blame. Grieving families demanded answers and records from school district and local officials, to no avail.
In November 2022, CNN and more than a dozen other news agencies sued Uvalde CISD for records related to the attack, including:
– Any 911 calls made to the Uvalde CISD Police Department on May 24, 2022
– Evidence logs related to the mass shooting
– Records showing which UCISD police personnel were on duty the day of the massacre, along with their locations and duty assignments
– Recordings of any body-worn camera footage from Uvalde CISD police officers who responded
– All interior and exterior security cameras footage at Robb Elementary School from the day of the killings
Last month, after the school district lost an appeal, the school board voted to release the records.
What’s expected to be released
While the full breadth of records has yet to be revealed, a source with knowledge of the material being released said the documents include:
– Text messages and other exchanges between officials about victims and their families
– Discussions about whether then-UCISD police chief Pete Arrondondo should be terminated
– Documentation on known security issues at Robb Elementary and what was done about them
‘Cascading failure of leadership’
In a scathing 575-page report, the US Department of Justice said a lack of courage and “cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy, and training” led to “unimaginable horror” for victims.
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The school district fired its police chief, Pete Arredondo, three months after the slaughter. Arredondo, along with former UCISD police officer Adrian Gonzales, was later indicted on the first criminal charges related to the school massacre.
Arredondo faces 10 counts of child endangerment and known criminal negligence. Gonzales faces 29 counts of abandoning and endangering a child. Both have pleaded not guilty.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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