Uvalde school authorities to disclose extensive documents detailing the Robb Elementary mass shooting incident
In a significant development, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) is set to release a trove of records related to the tragic school shooting that occurred at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. The records, amounting to many gigabytes of data, include police body camera videos, detailed text messages, emails, personnel files, student records, and investigative documents.
The disclosures provide new insight into the law enforcement missteps and traumatic experiences of survivors, intensifying criticism over the response to the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. The records come after a years-long legal battle and a settlement agreement involving news organizations and local/state governments.
One of the key findings is the revelation of campus safety concerns raised before the shooting. Surviving teachers have accounts of not being checked on after the attack. The records also offer a detailed portrait of the teenage gunman, highlighting his behavioral issues, school struggles, and his mother’s expressed fear of him.
The records also shed light on law enforcement’s flawed and delayed response. Officers waited 77 minutes to confront the shooter, lacked coordination, and misclassified him as a barricaded subject rather than an active threat. This delay resulted in wounded children being trapped in a classroom with the killer, and students hiding near their dead classmates.
The records also contain discussions about whether then-UCISD police chief, Pete Arredondo, should be terminated. Arredondo, who was fired three months after the shooting, has been indicted on 10 counts of child endangerment and known criminal negligence. Adrian Gonzales, a former UCISD police officer, has been indicted on 29 counts of abandoning and endangering a child. Both Arredondo and Gonzales have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The US Department of Justice released a scathing 575-page report stating a lack of courage and "cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy, and training" led to the tragedy at Robb Elementary School. The documents also include discussions about the known security issues at Robb Elementary School and what was done about them.
The release of these records comes after the school board of the Uvalde CISD voted to release the records last month, following the loss of an appeal. The mass shooting resulted in the deaths of 19 children and two adults. The records will be made available to the public on Monday, providing a comprehensive account of the events that unfolded on that fateful day.
[1] CNN [2] Texas Tribune [3] Associated Press [4] The New York Times [5] USA Today
