The mayor and councilor of Uvalde criticize the media for publishing surveillance video.
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin made it abundantly clear to community members in attendance what he thought of the premature release of the surveillance video from Robb Elementary School, calling it “one of the most chicken things I’ve ever seen.”
While Uvalde officials and families debate the release of the sensitive footage, two Texas news organizations published disturbing surveillance footage from inside Robb Elementary School during the May 24 mass shooting on Tuesday.
Prior to the planned release of the video by state lawmakers, the Austin ABC affiliate KVUE and the Austin American-Statesman both released an edited excerpt of the previously unreleased footage on Tuesday.
The mayor addressed a group of irate citizens, including elderly women who beat their fists and victims’ relatives who yelled from the audience.
The crowd agreed with the mayor, as did Ernest W. “Chip” King III, a fellow council member, who asserted that the “only reason” the media outlets gave for publishing the video was “ratings and money.”
The hallway video documents the 77 minutes that passed between the shooter’s initial entry into Robb Elementary and his eventual shooting.
Numerous law enforcement officers, some wearing shields for protection, can be seen waiting in the school’s hallway in the edited surveillance footage. For over 70 minutes, despite the fact that four more shots were fired from the classrooms, officers didn’t enter the building. The video made available by the news organizations reveals that police arrived at the scene 45 minutes later.
The shooter killed two teachers and 19 children while he was inside.
The USA Today network publication The Austin American-Statesman wrote a thorough opinion piece explaining its decision to publish the video.
According to KVUE’s reporting, the Austin American-Statesman and Senior Reporter Tony Plohetski were able to obtain the video. “To give the public transparency and to show what happened as officials waited to enter that classroom, both media outlets chose to release that footage on Tuesday.”
The New York Times obtained
Additionally, it stated: “The families in Uvalde have always been at the forefront of KVUE and our partners’ decision-making. Several families participated in that process and received a briefing on the audio and visual content of the video. Only one person disagreed that the video should be made public.”
The motion to accept Pete Arredondo’s resignation was also approved by the city council on Tuesday. Days after the school shooting, Arredondo, the troubled Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police chief, was sworn in as a member of the Uvalde City Council. He was elected to the council in early May.
McLaughlin once more voiced his displeasure with the investigation on Tuesday, calling it “the most unprofessional” he has “ever seen.”
“Every agency that was in that hallway must answer for their deeds on that day, I have said since the beginning. Everyone. Nobody will be left out. Everyone, from the local school to the federal and state governments, must defend their decisions made that day. Everyone must take responsibility, “said he.
A community member thanked the council and McLaughlin for attending the Unheard Voices March and Rally on Sunday in “105-degree” weather to start the meeting off on a good note.
Another resident had inquiries for the council regarding who controls the police force and how the city intends to handle security and safety as the start of the school year draws near.
According to McLaughlin, “the city manager, who answers to the city council, is the chief of police.” He continued, “I have requested to have extra law enforcement… on the first two weeks of school,” even though he had not yet spoken to the school district.
As they spoke in front of the council members, the majority of those present were critical.
One woman became emotional and exclaimed that she was “furious” as she spoke about how there was no memorial in the town to honor the victims. Further residents echoed this and questioned why the city had ordered the removal of the flowers, crosses, and other gifts from the original memorial area.
Eric Gay/AP Photo
The mayor acknowledged that his understanding of the removal procedure might not have been accurate, which led to confusion. Another council member claimed that after being asked, families willingly cleared their loved ones’ memorial plots. The audience at the meeting questioned whether this was true, citing rumors in the neighborhood that refuted the assertion, including Tess Mata’s mother. The council apologized and assured the crowd that the families’ wishes would be sought before a memorial would be recreated at a site of their choosing. This helped to calm the crowd.
Precinct 4 County Commissioner Ronnie Garza also brought up the subject of the legal buying age for assault weapons, requesting that Governor Greg Abbott convene a special session of the legislature “to consider raising the minimum age of purchase from 18 to 21 for semi-automatic assembly.”
Garza asked McLaughlin if he would think about putting it on the agenda of the following council meeting, and he agreed. The county commissioner will have his vote in favor of the anticipated motion to request that Abbott call a special session, the mayor added, even though he won’t be present at the upcoming meeting on July 26.
