Citizens of the small town of Uvalde, Texas, call the police operation at Robb Elementary School “cowardly.”
The recently released video shows armed police officers waiting in the vicinity of the classroom, talking to each other, texting and taking hand alcohol, which together blocks the image of a dubious and random operation that has previously been condemned by the Texas state police as a failure.
No information
But whether the police who were on site will receive some kind of punishment after the incident is unclear. A few hours after the video was published by the newspaper Austin American-Statesman demanded residents at a municipal council meeting on Tuesday answer to the question of whether the police were still on duty or if they receive a salary, but then received no information.
The names of the other police officers who waited for over an hour in a corridor near the classroom where the perpetrator was shooting children to death have not been made public.
The video footage from a camera in a school corridor shows the perpetrator entering the building with an AR-15 weapon. Two police officers approach the classrooms just minutes after the perpetrator entered, but then run back when they hear shots. Then time passes and more shots are heard at the same time as more police arrive.
In total, more than 100 shots were fired, according to authorities.
Whole group of cops
More than an hour passed before police entered the classrooms and put an end to the incident.
More than twelve police officers can be seen in the video on various occasions.
Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin says it is too early to decide whether to shut down any police officers. So far, only the school district’s police chief, Pete Arredondo, has been suspended following allegations that he mismanaged the police operation. However, he has denied the information that he would have been responsible on the spot.