A judge's order calling on the Texas Department of Public Safety to release video and records from the investigation into the 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde has been appealed by the Texas Attorney General, a state senator says.
On May 24, 2022, a gunman walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and killed 19 children and two teachers while injuring more than a dozen others.
Since the massacre, families of the victims have fought for transparency about the investigation into the shooting and police response. The Texas DPS has repeatedly cited their "ongoing investigation" as the reason for denying the release of information.
NBC News and more than a dozen other organizations sued the DPS in 2022 accusing the agency of withholding public records that detail the botched police response where officers, including DPS state troopers, waited more than an hour to confront the shooter.
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Last week a judge in Travis County ordered the DPS to release the records requested by media organizations within 20 days.
Texas Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio), who represents Uvalde, said Friday that Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an appeal, halting the release.
“Disgraced and corrupted Ken Paxton is fighting the release of these records to help cover up for Steve McCraw and the failures of DPS. Texas Republicans are working overtime to keep Texans in the dark about what really happened in Uvalde," Gutierrez said in a statement. “Two teachers and 19 innocent kids were braver than all 91 DPS troopers on scene that day – and every single family member continues to show the courage and grit to fight these cowardly politicians, who hide behind lagging investigations and refuse to fix the gun violence issue that is plaguing this country. I am confident the Attorney General and DPS will lose this appeal, and their failure will be plain as day for all to see.”
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If the attorney general's appeal is unsuccessful, the records would still be ordered to be released within the 20-day window.
