According to a source close to the Texas House Investigative Committee, the preliminary report into the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde could be released within the next 10 days, and the chairman of the committee is pushing for the report to include the critical 77-minutes of “hallway” surveillance video.
According to the source, the committee chairman, Rep. Dustin Burrows, is not pushing for the release of video showing victims or footage of violence.
Burrows stated on Twitter on Friday that he is prohibited from releasing the 77-minute “hallway” video of the law enforcement response because he signed a non-disclosure agreement with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Burrows’ tweet included two letters. In one letter, he requested permission from the DPS to make the video public. The other letter is a response from DPS, which states that while the agency agrees that the video will provide “clarity to the public regarding the tragic events in Uvalde,” the Uvalde district attorney “has objected to the video’s release.”
According to Burrow’s tweet, the video he wants released “contains no imagery of victims or footage of violence.”
On May 24, a gunman killed 19 young students and two teachers inside a classroom before authorities broke down the door more than an hour later – after waiting in a school hallway. What authorities were doing during those 77 minutes is still largely unknown, and some officials have questioned the credibility of the various investigations looking into the police failures that day.
The next hearing of the House committee is scheduled for Monday at 9 a.m. CT in Austin. DPS Director Col. Steven McCraw, ALERRT Assistant Director John Curnutt, and Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco are scheduled to testify.
On Thursday, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin criticized a new assessment of the law enforcement response to the shooting, claiming that the report by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center “does not provide a complete and accurate account of what occurred.”
McLaughlin disputed the report’s first section, which stated that a Uvalde police officer armed with a rifle spotted the gunman outside the school, but a supervisor either did not hear the officer or responded too late when the officer asked for permission to fire.
“On May 24, no Uvalde police officer saw the shooter before he entered the school,” McLaughlin said in a statement. “No Uvalde police officers had a chance to shoot at the gunman.”
CNN contacted Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee on Friday and Sunday, asking her to comment on why she objects to the video’s release, but has not received a response.
According to the same source, the preliminary report of the Texas House Investigative Committee will clarify conflicting accounts from previous reviews of what happened on May 24. According to the source, the report will include verbatim quotes from sworn testimony.
Nolasco told CNN on Sunday that his testimony would take place via video conference rather than in person.
Last month, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) established the three-member committee. Burrows, a Republican, was named chairman; Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat, was named vice chairman; and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman was named a member.
The investigative committee’s mission is to gather facts. Two other House committees, Youth Health & Safety and Homeland Security & Public Safety, will be tasked with recommending legislation.
