SAN ANTONIO — The families of several victims of the Uvalde mass shooting have filed a court motion seeking to determine how crime scene photos from Robb Elementary School were released to the Washington Post.
The Post published a wide-ranging report Thursday addressing the effect of AR-15 weapons in mass shootings across the country.
In their court filing, the families questioned how the photos could be leaked from the Texas Department of Public Safety to the news organization.
"The same DPS that stands before this court and argues that this information must be withheld from these families has now released some of this information to the Washington Post," the filing states.
The families ask in the court filing for sanctions to be imposed against the Texas Department of Public Safety because the release, whether intentional or not, violate the court's previous orders.
The families are seeking a court order that the Texas DPS identify who within its organization provided the photos to the Washington Post, then allow that person to give a deposition regarding the leak.
"The people who are left out are the actual victims of this tragedy who are left in the dark and without the ability to protect their own interests. These families deserve better," the filing states.
Texas DPS has had no public comment about the filing, which was made in connection with an ongoing lawsuit pursued by media organizations, including TEGNA, the parent company of KENS 5, against the state agency regarding the public release of investigative documents and materials from the May 2022 attack in Uvalde.
The Washington Post is also listed as a plaintiff of the lawsuit.