UVALDE, Texas \u2013 Uvalde County released thousands of public records related to the Robb Elementary massacre on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
The records include hundreds of pages of emails and text messages, and hours of bodycam footage from May 24, 2022. <\/p>\n
The county\u2019s release comes hours after Uvalde CISD shared its portion of the records.<\/a> <\/p>\n >> TAKEAWAYS: Uvalde CISD records from Robb Elementary shooting<\/a><\/p>\n KSAT Investigates<\/p>\n Hard-hitting journalism from the KSAT Investigates team delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n UCISD notified families of the victims about the impending release on Friday afternoon<\/a>, according to a letter reviewed by KSAT Investigates. <\/p>\n \u201cThis step is taken with the utmost respect and commitment to building trust and transparency within our school community,\u201d according to the district\u2019s letter. <\/p>\n County records may include 911 calls, videos, ballistic reports and communication between district and county employees, according to Laura Prather with Haynes Boone.<\/p>\n The scheduled release comes less than a month after a Texas appeals court ruled in favor of KSAT 12<\/a> and other news organizations\u2019 request for the release of school and county records from law enforcement\u2019s response to one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. <\/p>\n In separate meetings last month, UCISD and Uvalde County voted to stop fighting the appeal and release the records. <\/p>\n The district released the following letter to the community on Friday:<\/p>\n Dear Uvalde CISD School Community, We wish to inform you about important developments concerning the records of the tragic events that unfolded on May 24, 2022, at Robb Elementary School. Our district\u2019s law firm, Walsh Gallegos, is releasing these records to the media outlets that initiated the lawsuit, with the release scheduled for the week of August 11, 2025.<\/p>\n Information has been communicated to our district\u2019s law firm, indicating that the County is set to release records pertaining to the events of May 24, 2022, to media outlets next week. These records may include video footage. This decision to release the records is made with the most profound respect for our school community and is part of our ongoing commitment to building trust and ensuring transparency. We have pledged to inform our families and the greater Uvalde school community about the release of these documents before they are made available to the media, and this notice serves to uphold that promise.<\/p>\n We recognize the profound impact this tragedy continues to have on everyone involved\u2014our students, families, staff, and the entire Uvalde school community. As we journey through the process of healing and rebuilding, the district remains dedicated to offering support and maintaining transparency.<\/p>\n Please know that we stand by each school community member, ready to support, heal, and rebuild together.<\/p>\n Respectfully, The Uvalde CISD Board of Trustees and Ashley Chohlis<\/p>\n Background<\/p>\n On May 24, 2022, a gunman walked into Robb Elementary in Uvalde<\/a> and opened fire, killing 19 children and two teachers in two adjoining classrooms. Officers did not breach the door and kill the 18-year-old gunman until about 77 minutes after the first officers arrived at the school, even as students inside the classrooms called 911.<\/p>\n The response to the shooting and the handling of the investigation have been heavily scrutinized, with the Department of Justice finding \u201ccascading failures\u201d in law enforcement\u2019s handling<\/a> of the massacre. <\/p>\n Gloria Cazares, whose daughter Jackie <\/a>was killed in the shooting, explained why she wanted the records to be released during a school board meeting last month.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about making sure what happens to my daughter never happens to another child,\u201d Cazares said at the meeting. \u201cI\u2019m here today to demand the truth. You all owe it to Jackie, to her classmates, to her teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n The City of Uvalde became the first agency to release its records from the shooting in 2024<\/a> after being sued by media outlets. A Uvalde police sergeant retired after he was placed on leave for failing to include additional videos <\/a>in the initial release. <\/p>\n >> Body-worn footage from Uvalde police shows officers waiting in halls before breaching classrooms during Robb shooting<\/a><\/p>\n Texas\u2019 Department of Public Safety has yet to release its records from the shooting. KSAT 12 and other news organizations have asked a state appeals court to order the agency to make the records public.<\/a> <\/p>\n