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Public records related to the Robb Elementary School massacre that occurred on May 24, 2022, were released last week by Uvalde County and the school district, revealing details about the events of that day, and the actions and communication between officials and local leaders.
After yearslong contention between officials and the media outlets that sued them for the records three years ago, they were finally released.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is fighting a separate lawsuit for the release of that agency's records.
Uvalde officials have been under sustained scrutiny for the widely reported delayed response that occurred that day when 19 children and two teachers were killed by a gunman.
Video from officers’ body camera footage and thousands of documents were released. They included angry emails sent to the sheriff about his inaction.
There are also accounts from teachers—some of whom were injured—who survived and said that school leaders did not check in on them after the traumatic events.
The documents indicated that the 18-year-old shooter had behavioral issues. There were also reports from sheriff’s deputies that his mother had reported being afraid of her son.
Family members of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting continue to review these newly released materials.
For one victim’s family, it’s what is not there that becomes a critical piece of the mysteries and unanswered questions that remain.
Manuel Rizo is the uncle and godfather of Jackie Cazares who was killed in the massacre. Rizo said that the process to request information affects what records are actually released—and this means that other records still have not been shared.
Rizo also said there could be yet more information that has not been shared because much of the district’s video—and equipment—was taken by the Texas Department of Public Safety—and those records and that equipment were not among the items released last Monday.
“Apparently, all of the equipment and video were taken by the Texas Rangers and DPS, and in fact, they were never returned back to the school and that’s school property,” Rizo told TPR.
“The school should be transparent in releasing all the information that they have,” said Rizo. He said that the continued lack of transparency from these agencies is troubling.
Regarding the records that were released by Uvalde County, Rizo is also disappointed. He surmised that the deputies had inadvertently “covered their body camera with their body armor” and the “darkened” videos that have been released do not reveal anything telling about what occurred.
While he allowed that the poor quality of the video was not intentional, "[officers] had 77 minutes" to readjust the cameras. “When you go look at [the video], I mean, that's really disappointing,” he said.
Rizo said that while he and his family have not yet been able to pore through the entirety of the collection of records, they plan to do so in an effort to see if quicker action could have made a difference in saving the life of Jackie.
He said they would look closely to see “if there's any differences or anything that we have noted that they hadn't released in the past that would have made a difference in the life of our niece, Jackie.”
“She was one of the victims in the classroom who still was alive when they moved her out of the classroom and she died at the hospital,” said Rizo.
He wonders if “perhaps her life could have been saved and especially knowing in the videos that gunshots were heard into the 12 o'clock hour, and [officers] still did not go into the classroom,” he said.
“They should have considered that an active shooter instead of a barricaded subject. So that is concerning, but we're looking to see if there's any additional information in this release, in the videos, to note that more clearly.”
While Uvalde CISD and the county decided to comply with a judge's ruling to release the records, the Texas Department of Public Safety has appealed.
DPS spokesperson Sheridan Nolen told the Texas Tribune that the agency followed “its standard protocol in which it does not release records that will impact pending prosecutions.”
Of the 376 officers from several agencies who were on the scene that day, two former Uvalde school police officers face child endangerment charges related to their roles in the response. They include former officer Adrian Gonzales and Pete Arredondo, the school's police chief at the time and the presumed incident commander amid the confusion among law enforcement. Both have pleaded not guilty.
