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"After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics" documentary. Credit: Frontline, The Texas Tribune and Futuro Investigates
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The Texas Tribune is collaborating with Frontline and Futuro Investigates on a documentary about last year’s school shooting in Uvalde. “After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics,” premieres May 30 on PBS stations nationally. It will also be available to stream on pbs.org/frontline and texastribune.org.
The documentary follows journalist María Hinojosa as she examines the aftermath of the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. It tells the story of how some grieving families have pushed to raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic weapons in Texas and pulls from the Tribune’s original reporting on what happened inside the school, the semi-automatic weapon that was used and the aftermath of the tragedy.
“María Hinojosa and her colleagues have brought care, insight, empathy and understanding to the tragic story of what happened at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022. Their work will stand as a testament to what went wrong and how our nation can and must do better,” said Sewell Chan, editor-in-chief of the Tribune. “We’re so honored to collaborate with her team and with Frontline on this project.”
Hinojosa also explores the Robb Elementary School families’ outrage over the police response, in which armed officers waited for more than an hour to take down the shooter. In collaboration with the Tribune, which reviewed investigative footage from that day, Hinojosa explores the role of the shooter’s AR-15-style rifle in the officers’ hesitancy to confront him. Tribune reporter Zach Despart tells how officers on the scene knew their gear wouldn’t protect them against an AR-15. They knew that these types of rounds, because of their high velocity, would penetrate their normal body armor, he found.
[“He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15]
Through Hinojosa’s reporting and interviews with politicians on both sides of the gun debate, the documentary illustrates how gun reform has been a deeply polarizing issue in Texas for decades and how efforts to find a solution remain at a political standstill.
The documentary airs at 9 p.m. Central time May 30 on PBS stations and on Frontline’s YouTube channel. It will also be available to stream starting at 6 p.m. Central at pbs.org/frontline and on the PBS Video app.
“We’re proud to tell this complex story alongside our partners Futuro Investigates, The Texas Tribune, and María Hinojosa — whose reporting on the horrors of what happened Uvalde and its lasting impact on the community has been critically important,” said Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of Frontline.
“We have been thrilled to work on our partnership with the talented journalists of Frontline and The Texas Tribune,” said Peniley Ramírez, executive producer of Futuro Investigates. “Our diverse team deeply understands underreported issues affecting Latino communities. We produced a revealing, humane and critically important story addressing the United States’ key issues today: violence, guns, mental health and politics.”
Tickets are on sale now for the 2023 Texas Tribune Festival, happening in downtown Austin on Sept. 21-23. Get your TribFest tickets by May 31 and save big!