Officers threatened to levy criminal trespassing charges against journalists if they refused to leave a parking lot at the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Headquarters.
Four officers standing on the sidewalk near the building in Uvalde, Texas, told reporters to leave the premises and noted Uvalde Police Department officers were on the way to issue charges if the journalists remained, according to a video shared by CNN correspondent Shimon Prokupecz on Wednesday.
BORDER AGENT WHO RESPONDED TO SHOOTING SAYS UVALDE POLICE DID ‘BEST THAT THEY COULD’
“Well, just going to let you know, Uvalde PD’s en route. Once they get here, they’ll start issuing criminal trespasses for the property,” an officer said. “Because they themselves asked y’all to leave.”
Uvalde police asked the officers on the scene to deliver an initial warning, another officer told the reporters. The school district had petitioned the police to tell reporters to leave the area, Prokupecz noted in a tweet.
The school district office called the police to ask the media to leave their property. pic.twitter.com/uhwWLZe3ya
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) June 1, 2022
Prior to the encounter with law enforcement officials, a school spokesperson addressed the media and promised the school would release a statement, Prokupecz, who was at the scene with other journalists, said. The official declined to answer his questions about why the door was not locked when the massacre took place, he said.
“UCISD has and will continue to work with law enforcement who are investigating the event and realize that many questions remain,” the statement read. “Because the investigation is ongoing and information is evolving, we are going to reserve comment until all state and federal agencies have completed their review.”
Another reporter, Guillermo Contreras, corroborated Prokupecz’s account that reporters had been ordered off the premises, noting they were told the school district headquarters was private property.
UvaldeISD Chief Pete Arredondo at school distict offices. District officials say their building is private property and have police order media off the lot pic.twitter.com/vF8XuQqRVc
— Guillermo Contreras (@gmaninfedland) June 1, 2022
During his reporting at the headquarters Wednesday, Prokupecz confronted Uvalde schools police chief Peter Arredondo about reports that his force had stopped collaborating with a state inquiry into the mass shooting. Arredondo sidestepped some of Prokupecz’s questions but noted his department was in contact with the Texas Department of Public Safety “every day.” Arredondo was sworn in as a city councilman Tuesday.
CNN’s @ShimonPro confronts Uvalde schools police chief Peter Arredondo for the force’s decision to not cooperate with investigations into the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting. pic.twitter.com/4DPocsn8OB
— The Recount (@therecount) June 1, 2022
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Law enforcement officers from Uvalde have faced mounting questions over its response to the tragic shooting last week that led to 22 deaths, including the shooter, and wounded 18. It took officers nearly an hour to confront the gunman, according to a timeline of events from law enforcement. At one point, nearly 20 officers were stationed outside the classroom, raising questions about why it took so long for officers to act.
Accounts of how events unfolded, such as how the gunman was able to enter Robb Elementary School, whether the assailant barricaded himself in the classroom or was pinned down, and other answers, have changed over time, according to the Washington Post.
