New video on Texas elementary school shooting: Senator criticizes task force
Created: 07/13/2022, 20:33
By: Anna Lorenz
The school massacre in Uvalde claimed 21 lives.
© IMAGO/Carlos Escalona
The release of surveillance footage in the case of the Texas massacre sparks fierce criticism.
The police officers are accused of not organizing the operation.
Uvalde – On May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old gunman broke into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, shooting dead 19 children and two teachers.
The attacker had opened fire with an assault rifle in two connected classrooms.
The American police have been heavily criticized for their hesitant intervention.
A surveillance video that has now been released fuels displeasure with the officials.
Uvalde rampage: published video clip shows police action
Almost a month after the massacre in the small South Texas town, the school district's police chief had already been suspended until further notice.
New surveillance recordings of the rampage in the elementary school are now intensifying criticism of the task force.
A four-minute video clip released by the
Austin American-Statesman
newspaper shows, among other things, the perpetrator beginning to shoot in the school parking lot, then walking down the school hallway.
A dozen police forces then storm the corridors, but do not catch the perpetrator.
A later excerpt from the surveillance recordings shows that the officers were only able to overpower the perpetrator after about 75 minutes.
Uvalde massacre: Texas senator criticizes lack of command of operations
Roland Gutierrez, Senator in the Texas State Congress, has now commented on the American television station CNN about the police operation in the South Texas elementary school.
"I think the sad fact of May 24th is that no one took the lead," the politician said.
But criticism is also leveled at the congress itself.
According to US media, a committee of inquiry had originally promised the bereaved that they would be able to watch the 77-minute long version of the recordings first before the material was made available to the public.
The father of one victim accordingly complained that the clip has now been published, contrary to this promise.
(askl)