77 minutes of terror: CCTV shows police in hallway – and getting hand sanitiser – while gunman attacks

New footage has been released that shows how a deadly shooting in a Texas school unfolded.

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed when Salvador Ramos targeted Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

The video shows the 18-year-old gunman after he crashed his pickup truck, entering the building and – carrying an AR-15 assault rifle – walking down a hallway unhindered at 11.33am on 24 May.

Moments later, a child is seen coming around the corner of the hallway and running away.

A child peers round the corner after the gunman enters. Pic: Austin-American Statesman
Image:Pic: Austin-American Statesman

Police officers first arrive two-and-a-half minutes later. Two approach the classroom, but retreat after shots are fired.

At 11.52am, more policemen arrive – armed with guns, wearing body armour and carrying ballistic shields, but they are seen milling in the hallway.

At 12.30pm, another officer is seen stopping to get hand sanitiser.

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An officer stops to get hand sanitiser - 20 minutes before the gunman was stopped
Image:Pic: Austin-American Statesman

At 12.50pm – 77 minutes after the gunman entered the school – officers breach the classroom and kill him.

The footage was recorded from hallway CCTV within the school, and portions have been published by the Austin American-Statesman newspaper and KVUE.

Delays in the law enforcement response have been the focus of federal, state and local investigations into the massacre and its aftermath.

Gloria Cazares, mother of Jackie Cazares, who was killed in Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, listens to speakers during a "March for Our Lives" rally, one in a series of nationwide protests against gun violence, in Austin, Texas, U.S. June 11, 2022. REUTERS/Nuri Vallbona
Image:Residents in Uvalde have been angered by what the footage shows. File pic

Families of the victims have been campaigning for the footage to be released, and are due to view the full recording this weekend.

The result of an investigation by the Texas state legislature is also set to be published.

Residents in Uvalde have been angered by what the footage shows, and at a council meeting on Tuesday night, they shouted for action and demanded police face consequences.

It took officers 77 minutes to storm the classroom and exchange fire with the gunman. Pic: Austin-American Statesman
Image:Pic: Austin-American Statesman

Earlier this month, a report by the Texas Department of Public Safety found that an Uvalde police officer could have shot Ramos before he entered the school, but hesitated while he waited for permission from a supervisor.

In a statement, that department’s director, Steve McCraw, said the video provides “horrifying evidence” that the law enforcement response was a failure.

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However, he said the families of those killed should have had the chance to have seen the footage first, and he was “deeply disappointed” by the newspaper’s decision to publish the video.

Brett Cross, whose 10-year-old son Uziyah Garcia died in the shooting, said: “We’re tired of seeing things after the media gets a hold of them. Nobody is telling us anything. And it’s disrespectful to not just us, but our kids’ memories.”

Mark Gibson

Graduates in Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 1990. Move to Los Angeles California in 2004. Specialized in Internet journalism.

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