School Surveillance Footage Shows Police Response to Uvalde Shooting

New footage shows the controversial police response to the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The 77 minutes of footage, which were published by the Austin American-Statesman Tuesday, show armed officers gathered in the hallway outside the classroom where the gunman killed 19 students and two teachers. The video indicates that officers waited more than an hour after first entering the school before they breached the classroom and killed the shooter. Officers initially approached the classroom three minutes after the shooter entered, but retreated after the gunman appeared to open fire at them.

Law enforcement's response to the shooting has been criticized by across the political spectrum. Officers were accused of mistreating victims' parents at the scene and waiting too long to neutralize the shooter. The school's police chief then stepped down, and a Texas state senator sued Texas Department of Public Safety after being denied access to related records. The shooting is the third-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Outlets on all sides covered the footage. Coverage from the left and center tended to frame the police response more negatively and describe responding officers as heavily armed. Reports from the right focused more on voices that defended the police response, such as Uvalde's mayor, who highlighted on June 21 how "every other classroom in the building was safely evacuated." Outlets across the spectrum also mentioned how the Statesman's release of the footage was scrutinized by local officials for purportedly disrespecting victims' families.