SAN ANTONIO — Medical examiners have completed autopsy reports for the Robb Elementary shooting victims, but a state district judge will allow Uvalde's district attorney to seal the records until the criminal investigation is complete.
The ruling prevents victims' relatives and the public from seeing the records, which will likely answer key questions about the tragedy. Results could help investigators determine whether any of the victims could've been saved by a faster law enforcement response.
"That's the space we're in," said Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-Uvalde, Monday. "Everything for the last six months has been hidden by this agency and by people in power to cover up their failures."
District attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee asked the judge to seal the reports, arguing the "release of the details contained in the autopsy records... would alert potential suspects of information that law enforcement needs to preserve until the investigation and potential questioning of such suspects is completed."
In their motion, prosecutors also contend "releasing the details of the wounds inflicted from the Robb Elementary shooting would unnecessarily flood the airways with highly emotionally charged information, jeopardizing the fair resolution of a prosecution."
It's not clear when detectives will conclude their criminal investigation into the shooting. State leaders have said the process could take as long as 18 months.
It's also not clear whether there are any potential suspects subject to prosecution, since the shooter himself is dead.
"It's important to find out if those children were alive, and at what time," Gutierrez said.
At least four victims were alive when federal agents breached the classroom door to kill the gunman. One died on the way to a San Antonio hospital, two died at Uvalde Memorial hospital, and another died in an ambulance outside the school.
Law enforcement waited 77 minutes to kill the shooter.