Video Shows Delayed Police Response as Uvalde Gunman Rampaged Through School

In Texas, the Austin-American Statesman has published video of the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. The video corroborates earlier press accounts that law enforcement officers — many of them with ballistic shields and powerful weapons — waited in the school’s hallway for well over an hour before a team finally confronted the gunman and shot him dead. At Tuesday’s meeting of the Uvalde City Council, Mayor Don McLaughlin blasted news outlets for releasing the video; he and other city councilmembers said families should have had a chance to view the footage before its public release. Mayor Don McLaughlin: “The way that video was released today was one of the most chicken things I’ve ever seen.” Councilmember Ernest King III: “The mayor said 'chicken.' It was chickensh*t” — Mayor Don McLaughlin: “Yeah.” Councilmember Ernest King III: — “to release that video the way you did.” Adam Martinez: “What about the cops? Are they chickensh*t?” Councilmember Ernest King III: We’re — we’re going to handle that.” Adam Martinez: “You said that they did a good job. Do you still think they did a good job?” Mayor Don McLaughlin: “Adam, I’m not going to get into an argument with you on that deal. I haven’t seen the video yet.” Confronting Mayor McLaughlin was Adam Martinez, whose 8-year-old son was inside Robb Elementary during the shooting. Martinez blasted the mayor for failing to criticize the police response. Adam Martinez: “Everybody else, the whole world knows that they’re chickensh*t. But it won’t come out of his mouth, for whatever reason. He’s lying to himself. And we need to see that he holds them accountable. He needs to be seeing the same thing that we’re seeing; otherwise, we’re not going to be on the same side.”