UVALDE, Texas – In the hours since the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) and Uvalde County released records to the 2022 Robb Elementary shooting this week, family members of the victims have also shared their reactions to the emails, records and video now available for public view.
The records — which include bodycam footage, emails, police report incidents and other documents — were released after a Texas appeals court ruled in favor of KSAT 12 News and other news organizations’ request to release them.
The shooting happened on May 24, 2022, when a gunman walked into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and opened fire. The shooter killed 19 children and two teachers in two adjoining classrooms.
Officers did not breach the door and kill the 18-year-old gunman until approximately 77 minutes after the first officers arrived at the school, even as students inside the classrooms called 911.
The response to the shooting and the handling of the investigation have been heavily scrutinized, with the Department of Justice finding “cascading failures” in law enforcement’s handling of the massacre.
Family members of the victims have repeatedly pushed for the release of the records in an effort to bring accountability to light.
Gloria Cazares — whose 9-year-old daughter, Jackie, died in the shooting — said in a statement on Tuesday that she’s been “reliving May 24th every single day Jackie hasn’t been in this world.”
“Records being released is painful, but nothing will ever compare to the pain of my daughter being murdered,” Cazares wrote, in part. “We need to remember that avoiding the truth doesn’t protect us, it only protects those who failed us.”
Vincent Salazar lost his 11-year-old daughter, Layla, in the shooting.
“I feel it’s necessary to respond to those who say we need to move on. If you’re saying that, then you didn’t lose a child that day,“ Salazar wrote, in part. ”For some of us, we will never be able to move on, regardless of what information gets released.”
“You don’t just move on from something like this; it’s always going to be part of the story of Uvalde, whether you like it or not. We didn’t ask for this, and we aren’t the ones withholding information,” Salazar continued. “In the end, the truth will always come out; it always does. And while some of us will never be able to just move on, we can, however, continue to move forward together - that’s all we can do. In my Layla voice, I hope all of you have an awesome and blessed day.”
Brett Cross, the guardian of shooting victim Uziyah Garcia, also took to social media to share his thoughts. He wrote that UCISD and the county have “fought like Hell to keep them buried” and that it’s “about time.”
Cross has been persistent in his pursuit for transparency. Earlier in 2025, he released a documentary with footage from the City of Uvalde regarding the law enforcement’s response on the day of the shooting.
Cross insists that Uvalde officials will “give us the scraps” with the parts “they can’t bury anymore.”
“You don’t spend over 1,100 days and thousands of taxpayer dollars fighting in court if there’s nothing in there to be ashamed of,” Cross said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “You don’t lawyer up for 3 years to protect ‘transparency. To have continued transparency, you’d have needed to be transparent prior!”
5. This isn’t closure.
— Brett Cross (@BCross052422) August 11, 2025
It’s damage control.
And I’m not stopping until every second of video, every second of audio, every last word they’ve buried sees daylight.
Ana Coronado, the mother of Maite Rodriguez, opened up about her ongoing grief and the painful process of pursuing justice.
“I’ll never fault anyone for how they choose to grieve or seek justice,” Coronado wrote, in part. “Fact is people still need to be held accountable.”
Coronado described the emotional toll of new information surfacing about the massacre.
“Seeing all the new information surfacing is extremely painful and brings back dark thoughts that I worked hard to confront and work through,” Coronado continued.
In her post, Coronado wrote about her daughter’s unique life and personality.
“She isn’t just a picture. We had many little moments together that I cherish with all my being,” Coronado wrote, in part. “The little girl you see in the video below, look into her eyes. She is real and she was happy and loved.”
Irma Garcia, 48, was one of the two teachers who died in the shooting. She co-taught fourth grade with Eva Mireles, the second teacher killed, sharing adjoining classrooms.
Garcia’s sister, Marissa Lozano, said in a Facebook post that she’s “consumed by anger” with the recent release of footage and records from UCISD and Uvalde County.
“I am appalled by the lack of urgency to provide aid to the wounded (because they were aware that there were wounded inside),” Lozano said. “The inaction of the responders, who remained in the hallway, is disgraceful.”
“A substandard school district, an unprepared, poorly trained law enforcement, lax gun laws, and a neglected child resulted in this horrific tragedy,” Lozano said. “And I know that not one of those that I just mentioned will ever be held accountable for their actions, lack thereof. That hurts just as much as losing my sister.”
More recent Robb Elementary coverage on KSAT: