Yesterday I wrote about the decision made by Texas State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) to show video surveillance footage to the families of the victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. The video is edited. Burrows planned to release the video to the public after the families were given the chance to see it.

Burrows is the chairman of the Texas House committee investigating the Uvalde mass shooting. The horrific event occurred on May 24. Burrows thought it was time to let the families see for themselves what the response was from law enforcement and what was happening in the school while 19 children and two teachers were dying. Many state officials agreed that it was past time for the families to get some answers to their questions, including Governor Abbott. He also called for the release of the video. The person holding things up is Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Busbee. She doesn’t think the video footage should be available to the general public, at least not as long as the investigation is ongoing. She had the committee members sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Very soon after Burrows made his announcement, two media outlets jumped ahead and released an edited portion of video footage filmed during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. It was bad, just as everyone suspected it would be. Allahpundit’s post on the video is worth your time to read and get a good sense of just how bad it is. I cannot even imagine how family members of those dead children and those two teachers must have felt to find the video footage available if they were not given a heads-up from anyone.

Austin ABC affiliate KVUE and the Austin American-Statesman both released an edited portion of the surveillance footage. The mayor and a city council member quickly voiced outrage over the rush to release the video. The entire video footage was released later.

The mayor spoke to a crowd of angry citizens, including elderly women who pounded their fists and family members of victims who shouted from the gallery.

The crowd was in agreement with the mayor, as was a fellow council member, Ernest W. “Chip” King III, who claimed the outlets’ “only reason” for releasing the video was for “ratings and money.”

The Austin American-Statesman wrote an op-ed to explain their decision to publish the video. It claims that some of the families were told of what is on the video footage.

“That video was obtained by Austin American-Statesman and KVUE Senior Reporter Tony Plohetski,” KVUE said in its reporting. “Both media outlets have elected to release that footage Tuesday to provide transparency to the community, showing what happened as officials waited to enter that classroom.”

In addition, it wrote: “KVUE and our partners have kept the families in Uvalde at the forefront in our decision-making process. Several families were included in that process and were briefed on what can be heard and seen in the video. All but one agreed the video should be made public.”

A father of one of the murdered children and the mayor spoke out. The mayor called it a “chicken” move and unprofessional.

“We were supposed to get some footage shown to us on Sunday of the filming inside the hallway,” said Javier Cazares, whose daughter was killed in the Uvalde shooting, per CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz on Twitter.

“We didn’t want any audio and these SOBs did it,” Cazares said. “It got leaked. It got shown all over the world and we are pissed. These families didn’t deserve it. I don’t deserve it. That’s a slap to our babies’ faces and we’re tired of this.”

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. called the release of the video “chicken” and “unprofessional” at a City Council meeting Tuesday night.

“There’s no reason for the families to have to see that,” McLaughlin added. “I mean, they were going to see the video, but they didn’t need to see the gunman coming in and hear the gunshots. They don’t need to relive that. They’ve been through enough.”

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw released a statement.

“I am deeply disappointed this video was released before all of the families who were impacted that day and the community of Uvalde had the opportunity to view it as part of Chairman Dustin Burrows’ plan,” McCraw said. “Those most affected should have been among the first to see it.”

McCraw also acknowledged that the video provides “horrifying evidence” that the police response to the shooting was an “abject failure.”

Hours after the video was released, a Uvalde City Council meeting took place. Some residents in attendance said they hadn’t been able to bring themselves to watch it.

Jesus Rizo said officers who are paid taxpayer dollars to protect people should not have “sat there” when children were in danger.

“You could’ve saved some lives. You could have held somebody’s hand as they were dying,” he said. “The parents could have seen them one last time as they were dying.”

Others demanded consequences for police and more information in an investigation marked by confusing statements that have had to be retracted at times.

“Give these families some closure,” said Daniel Myers, a pastor in Uvalde and family friend to one of the victims.

The mayor doesn’t approve of the investigation itself or how the families of victims have been treated. “This has been the most unprofessional investigation or handling of it that I’ve ever seen in my life,” Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said in an interview with The Associated Press. “These families get blindsided constantly.”

There are still many questions not answered. The response of law enforcement on the scene is most concerning. Who was really in charge? State authorities point to Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo as the on-scene commander. He made mistakes, though, including delaying the killing of the gunman. Arredondo didn’t consider himself in charge and said he assumed someone else was in control. Mayor McLaughlin has accused DPS of minimizing its involvement and releasing inaccurate timelines.

It’s been a mess. There is still so much confusion about what happened and when it happened. The lack of transparency for the families and for the community in general has been a travesty. Releasing the video footage in the manner in which it was released was disrespectful to the grieving families.