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 camera 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.
The school district and county tried to conceal records
After officials refused to release key records in the months following the massacre, CNN and 17 other news organizations sued the city of Uvalde, Uvalde CISD and Uvalde County for public information.
“Defendants have consistently resisted releasing any meaningful information in response to the Requests regarding the events of that day – despite the awful reality that some 376 members of law enforcement responded to the tragedy, including dozens of officers from the Uvalde Police Department, UCISD Police Department, and the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Department,” the November 2022 lawsuit said.
“The obfuscation and inaction have only prolonged the pain of victims, their families and the community at large, all of whom continue to cry out for transparency regarding the events of that day,” the lawsuit continued.
“The Uvalde community and citizens of Texas deserve answers and the opportunity to heal from this horrific tragedy.”
A trial court ruled in favor of the media outlets in July 2024, and the city of Uvalde released its records the next month.
But Uvalde County and the school district appealed the trial court’s decision. They lost that battle last month, when the Fourth Court of Appeals ruled against the county and school district.
The school district’s deadline to release its records is today. The county’s deadline to release its records is August 18.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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