The Texas newspaper that published the video of Uvalde school shootings is under intense fire.
The footage shows the shooter entering school, and the police waiting for him to be taken down 77 minutes later. Tony Plohetski (an investigative reporter for KVUE TV and Austin American Statesman) obtained the footage.
“This is not a decision that we have taken lightly. We have carefully considered what we are doing here. We know that there will be people out there who maybe do not agree with our decision to air these clips,”Plohetski stated.
Several victims’ family members are angry that they didn’t get to view the video first. At a council meeting the mayor of Uvalde called out the news organizations “chicken”Thanks for making the video available.
Others disagree and say that criticism should not be directed at the responding officers.
The terrifying video begins at 11.28 AM, when the killer crashes his car in front of the school. He fired three minutes later at the building. The teacher inside called 911 in panic, shouting at the children to run.
At 11:33 a.m. the killer entered the school and took a right. He then walked down the corridor flickering his hair.
A young boy walked out of the bathroom to see the gunman. The boy fled for cover as the rampage began.
Although there were several bursts, the children’s screams weren’t heard.
Three minutes later, the first officers arrived. They attempted to confront the killer but were stopped by police and shot.
Over the next 20 minute, more heavily armed police officers arrived and crowded the corridor. The officers were wearing helmets and carrying ballistic shields but remained seated.
Some moments trigger pure disbelief. Two cops feist-bumped one another. Another walked over to the mounted dispenser and cleaned his hands.
At 12:50 p.m., they finally made their move. The nightmare was ended 17 minutes and one hour after it began.
Now, the police must explain why it took so long.
On Sunday, the committee investigating the shooting will meet with the victims’ families to discuss its preliminary report.