Uvalde mayor calls media 'chicken' after outlet leaks footage showing cops' response to school shooting. The city has resisted turning over documents around the deadly attack.

• The mayor of Uvalde, Texas, lashed out at media for publishing footage from the May 24 massacre.
• Local outlets released videos on Tuesday showing police idle as the school shooting unfolded.

The Mayor of Uvalde, Texas, slammed the media on Tuesday after local outlets leaked footage that showed police officers responding to the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School.

But the city, for weeks, resisted turning over documents related to the massacre that left 19 children and two adults dead.

"The way that video was released today is one of the most chicken things I've ever seen," Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said at a city council meeting on Tuesday evening.

He added that the media "knew" the footage was scheduled to be released over the weekend.

Shortly before the leak, Texas state politician Dustin Burrows said on Twitter that the footage would be unveiled on Sunday to the Uvalde community and then the general public. The Austin-American Statesman and KVUE, however, published the footage Tuesday afternoon, and defended the decision by saying it did so in the interest of "transparency" and "the truth."

After McLaughlin's comments, a city councilor said the leak was "chicken shit" and said the video was "not supposed to be" released.

One city council meeting attendee pushed back against the media criticism and asked the politicians, "What about the cops? Were they chicken shit?" Another attendee said "you're out here attacking the media. You should be attacking the cops."

For weeks, Uvalde officials have avoided turning over police records and documents about the deadly attack — even turning to legal loopholes to avoid releasing information.

Last month, the Texas Tribune reported that Uvalde asked the state's attorney general if the city could withhold records related to the shooting. Multiple media outlets have also reported that the city has denied public records requests and tried to avoid releasing records.

Reporters have said they were asked to leave city hall, and hearings on the massacre have been held behind closed doors.

The lack of transparency has caused outrage within and outside the Uvalde community, including anger directed at law enforcement officials for multiple shifting narratives and consistently changing timelines of how the massacre unfolded.

Uvalde's government did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.