Graphic New Footage Shows Uvalde Police Waiting Inside Hallway for 77 Minutes During Shooting

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Austin Statesman newspaper obtained surveillance video of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which showed police officers entering the schools minutes after the gunman but taking more than an hour to breach the classroom to take the suspect down.

The gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in the shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24.

The video released on Tuesday starts off by showing the suspect crash his vehicle near Robb Elementary School and shooting at two men who were walking to the scene of the incident.

The gunman enters the school and walks down a hallway with an AR-15 rifle and then opens fire into a classroom as he walks inside.

Be advised the footage below contains scenes some may find offensive.

The gunman is heard firing numerous rounds inside two classrooms for two and a half minutes.

About seven police officers, including one armed with a rifle, are seen entering the school about three minutes after the gunman, the video shows. Three police officers move toward the classroom but retreat back to the end of the hallway after receiving gunfire.

More than a dozen heavily armed police officers, including US Border Patrol agents, are seen entering the school over the span of about an hour but making no real rescue attempt until 77 minutes after the gunman entered the school, according to the video footage.

The gunman can be heard firing several rounds inside the classroom as police officers waited at the end of the hallway to breach the classroom, the video shows.

The video invoked an already-incensed community, prompting outrage at a city hall meeting.

According to local outlets, Mayor Don McLaughlin referred to members of the media as "chicken" and "unprofessional" for releasing the footage before families were able to see it.

One resident reportedly questioned whether the mayor believed the responding officers were "chicken."

The school district has announced that it will hold a special election on November 8 to replace Pete Arredondo, an ex-member of the city council and the suspended chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department.

Many have even called for the school to be torn down, arguing that it's going to be difficult for many young children with trauma to return to a normal school environment.

“It would be hard for them to go back,” said Hector Gomez, a student of Robb Elementary back in 1968. “They’re going to have that same old feeling about what happened.”