Newly released body camera footage on Monday revealed more details about the much-criticized police response to a 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
The footage shows police officers moving through the hallways of Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022. Shooter Salvador Ramos went on a rampage for more than an hour as police hesitated to intervene, killing 19 students and two adults.
Uvalde city officials released the footage this weekend, along with a trove of audio, video and other recordings related to the scourge, after The Associated Press and other news organizations filed lawsuits after authorities initially refused to release information about the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
The release included audio of teachers inside the school frantically calling 911.
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A lawsuit brought by a news organization has revealed new audio and video recordings of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas. (William Luther/San Antonio Express-News via The Associated Press)
“Lots of gunfire, lots of gunshots,” said one terrified teacher who frantically called 911, while another sobbed on the phone as the operator urged her to stay quiet.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!” the first teacher yelled before hanging up.
Delayed Law enforcement response The police response to the shooting has been widely criticized as a botched effort, with around 400 officers waiting more than 70 minutes to confront the gunman in a classroom full of dead and injured students and teachers.
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Shortly before arriving at the school, Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother at her home, then left the home in his pickup truck and drove to Robb Elementary School.
A still image from a surveillance camera shows police officers waiting in the hallway after Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022, and killed 19 children and two teachers. (Texas House Investigative Committee/Handout via Reuters)
Ramos’ distraught uncle tried to get his nephew to stop shooting, calling 911 multiple times and pleading with them to keep him on the line.
“Maybe he’ll listen to me, he’ll listen to everything I say,” a man who identified himself as Armando Ramos said in the 911 call. “Maybe he can do something to turn himself in or turn himself in,” Ramos said, his voice trembling.
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He said his nephew, who had been at home with him the night before, had been in his bedroom all night and said he was upset because his grandmother was “making too much noise.”
A memorial was erected outside Robb Elementary School following the May 2022 shooting. (REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beale)
“Oh, God, please don’t do anything stupid,” the man said over the phone. “I think he’s shooting kids.”
But the offer came too late, just as the shooting ended and a police officer shot and killed Salvador Ramos.
The shooting has been the subject of multiple state and local investigations, with investigators singling out the police response.
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The police response included about 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents, 91 state police officers, school police, and city police. While dozens of officers stood in the hallways trying to decide what to do, students in classrooms called 911 on their cellphones, pleading for help, and desperate parents gathered outside the building begging officers to enter the classrooms. A tactical team eventually entered the classroom and shot and killed the gunman.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
