On May 24, 2022, a gunman entered Robb Elementary in Uvalde and opened fire in a classroom, killing 19 children and two teachers.
Since that day, the law enforcement response has been closely scrutinized by victims’ families, lawmakers, the media, and the general public. Not only the response has been scrutinized, but also the manner in which the investigation was conducted.
Shortly after the shooting, media outlets across the country, including KSAT, filed requests to disclose all publicly available documents under the Open Records Act to help our audience better understand what happened that day. This led to a lawsuit to compel the release of this information.
After more than two years, a judge recently ordered the city of Uvalde to release all bodycam and dashcam footage, emergency calls, radio transmissions and other documents relevant to the investigation.
These recordings were released on Saturday.
KSAT has decided to release most of the documentation it has obtained to give the public a chance to see what happened that day. The deletions in the documents, the blurring in the videos, and the editing of the audio were all made by the City of Uvalde and approved by the attorneys for all media outlets. Out of respect for the victims’ families, KSAT has decided not to release the 911 calls made by students from the school.
Although the video is difficult to watch and the audio is difficult to hear, we have chosen to present everything to our audience as it was reported to us. We believe the public has a right to know what happened that day.
A statement from Laura Prather, chair of the Haynes Boone Media Law Commission, which is leading the process:
“We are grateful that the City of Uvalde is taking this step toward transparency. For more than two years, our Haynes Boone team has fought for the release of records related to the tragic mass murder at Robb Elementary. We are still waiting for Uvalde CISD, Uvalde County and Texas DPS to release dozens of interviews, hundreds of bodycam videos and thousands of investigative files. Transparency is necessary to help Uvalde heal and allow all of us to understand what happened and learn how to prevent future tragedies.”
Reporting on KSAT.com:
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