Surveillance video from a hallway inside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde during the tragic mass shooting on May 24 that left 19 children and two teachers dead may be released, according to multiple reports.
ABC News reported on July 9 that Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin supports the release of a 77-minute hallway video, but does not want any audio from inside of the classrooms to be released. Texas officials on Monday agreed to release the video, according to ABC News, but it has not been announced when the video will be made public.
The full video shows a truck crashing into the school building, and 18-year-old Salvador Ramos walking towards the school, entering, and walking down the hallway carrying a gun, according to KVUE and senior reporter Tony Plohetski who viewed the unreleased video.
The video also shows a young boy witness gunshots, but was able to run away as the shooter did not see him. Ramos then began shooting towards a classroom as he walked in.
Police officers are then seen in the video about three minutes after the gunman entered the school. KVUE noted that dozens of officers can be seen in the hallway video, but did not go into any classroom for at least 70 minutes.
Rep. Dustin Burrows, the chairman of a special Texas House panel investigating the school shooting, spoke at a hearing on Monday and said if the video were to be released, it would not be graphic.
“This video would be of the hallway footage from Robb elementary school – it would contain no graphic images or depictions of violence," Burrows said, according to The Guardian.
Burrows went on to say that he believes it's "very important" for people to see the video.
"I can tell people all day long what it is I saw, the committee can tell people all day long what we saw, but it’s very different to see it for yourself," Burrows said.
"And we think that’s very important and we will continue to put pressure on the situation and consider all options in making sure that video gets out for the public to view."
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee has been against releasing the video, and her opinion was made clear in a letter from Freeman Martin, the Texas Department of Public Safety deputy director of homeland security operations, to Burrows on Friday.
“We do not believe [the video’s] public release would harm our investigative efforts," Martin wrote. “In fact, releasing this video would assist us in providing as much transparency as possible to the public without interfering with the investigation in the manner that an immediate public release of all evidence would.
"However, we have communicated your request to Uvalde County district attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee. She has objected to releasing the video and has instructed us not to do so."
"We're still working on getting the video released. There've been no arrangements," Burrows said on Monday afternoon, according to KHOU's Adam Bennet.
"It is my intention to show the hallway video to the people of Uvalde, regardless of any agreement," Burrows tweeted. "I will not release it to the public until the people of Uvalde have seen it for themselves."
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