A year after Uvalde, new documentary delves into guns, grief and Texas politics (2023)

Recognized maritime journalistAmong other things, Hinojosa examines the aftermath of the deadliest shooting in Texas history

Tuesday 30 May 2023
Streaming at 7/6c at pbs.org/frontline and the PBS Video App
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It was one of America's deadliest school shootings: In May 2022, an 18-year-old legally purchased two AR-style guns, walked into his former fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and opened fire. massacre that killed 19 children and two adults.

A year later, in a FRONTLINE documentary with Futuro Investigates and The Texas Tribune, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa examines lingering questions about why this tragedy happened and examines how some of Robb's elementary school families responded.

"Over the last year, I haven't been able to stop thinking about these families and Uvalde," Hinojosa says in the documentary,Efter Uvalde: Guns, Grief, and Texas Politics. "I need to know: what does a place like Uvalde do after a terrible tragedy like this?"

Premieres Tuesday, May 30, 2023 on PBS and streaming platforms,Efter Uvalde: Guns, Grief, and Texas Politicsoffers answers. The documentary tells the story of how some families channeled their grief in an effort to raise the purchase age for assault weapons in Texas from 18 to 21.

Hinojosa also explores the outrage of families at Robb's elementary school over the police response, where armed officers waited over an hour to take down the gunman. Gladys Gonzalez, whose daughter Caitlyne was at school that day, says, "There's just a part of her that's been obsessed with wanting to understand what happened."

Working with The Texas Tribune, whose reporters reviewed hours of investigative footage from that day, Hinojosa explores the role of the gunman's AR-15 weapon in police hesitation to confront him. The officers on the scene,Texas Tribunereporter Zach Despart told her, knowing their equipment would not protect them from an AR-15: "They are well aware that these types of shells, because of their high velocity, penetrate their normal armor."

The doctor. Roy Guerrero, Uvalde's only pediatrician, describes the horror of what he saw at the hospital after the shooting: "That's when I realize the caliber of what these guns can do to a child's body," Hinojosa says. "Then imagine a child who has been beheaded. And it. What else can I tell you?”

Through Hinojosa's reporting and interviews with politicians on both sides of the gun debate, the joint documentary illustrates how gun reform has been a deeply polarizing issue in Texas for decades, and how efforts to find common ground remain politically stalled.

A year after the tragedy at Robb's elementary school,Efter Uvalde: Guns, Grief, and Texas Politicsit's a deep and powerful look at where the battle for assault rifles is in Texas and a left-behind community's efforts to heal.

FRONTLINE, Futuro Investigates og The Texas Tribune'sEfter Uvalde: Guns, Grief, and Texas Politicswill be sent on Tuesday 30 May 2023 at 10/9c on PBS stations (check local listings) e no FRONTLINEChannel to Youtube. It will also be available to stream starting at 7/6c the night after its launchpbs.org/frontlineEmail noPBS video app.

"We are proud to tell this complex story with our partners Futuro Investigates, The Texas Tribune and Maria Hinojosa - whose reporting on the horrors of what happened in Uvalde and its lasting impact on the community was extremely important," said Raney Aronson - Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer for FRONTLINE.

"The Texas Tribune was deeply honored to partner with FRONTLINE and Futuro Investigates in their coverage of the Uvalde tragedy. María Hinojosa and her colleagues brought care, insight, empathy and understanding to the tragic story of what happened at Robb Elementary on the 24th. May 2022. Their work will be a testament to what went wrong and how our nation can and must do better,” said Sewell Chan, editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune.

"We were delighted to work with the talented reporters at FRONTLINE and The Texas Tribune," said Peniley Ramírez, Executive Producer of Futuro Investigates. "Our diverse team deeply understands the underreported issues affecting Latino communities. We produced an eye-opening, humane and critically important story that addresses the big issues facing America today: violence, guns, mental health and politics."

After the premiere of the joint investigation, Futuro Media will broadcast a special episode of the award-winning program on Friday, June 2Latin one, partly based on documentary reporting. The audio version of the story, "Uvalde Rising," will explore how Caitlyne Gonzales becomes a new leader in her community as the town of Uvalde fights for more mental health resources.

Efter Uvalde: Guns, Grief, and Texas Politicsit is distributed internationally by PBS International.Get a newsletter from FRONTLINEfor updates on events, podcast episodes and more related toEfter Uvalde: Guns, Grief, and Texas Politics.

CREDITORS
Efter Uvalde: Guns, Grief, and Texas Politicsis a FRONTLINE production with Futuro Investiga, a division of Futuro Media. The director is Amy Bucher. Producer and co-director is Heidi Burke. The authors are Amy Bucher and Heidi Burke. Correspondent is Maria Hinojosa. The documentary features reports from Texas Tribune reporters Uriel J. García, Jinitzail Hernández, Zach Despart and ProPublica-Texas Tribune Investigative Initiative reporter Perla Trevizo. The editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune is Sewell Chan. The executive producers of Futuro Investiga are Peniley Ramírez and Maria Hinojosa. The president of Futuro Media is Julio Ricardo Varela. FRONTLINE's editor-in-chief and executive producer is Raney Aronson-Rath.

About FRONTLINE
FRONTLINE, America's longest-running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our time through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and television award, including 104 Emmy Awards and 31 Peabody Awards. Visitpbs.org/frontlineand follow us furtherTwitter,Facebook,InstagrameYoutubeLearn more. FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and broadcast nationally on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through viewership grants from PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, the Park Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

OM FUTURO INVESTIGAS
Futuro Investiga is the investigative unit of the Pulitzer Prize-winning organization Futuro Media. It is the only investigative unit in the United States dedicated to reporting on issues affecting Latinos, immigrants, refugees and other underrepresented communities. Latina-founded and led by Maria Hinojosa and Emmy Award winner Peniley Ramírez, Futuro Investigates is on a mission to redefine investigative work, in the tradition of the best American journalism. The unit centers on humanity, along with data and reports from the field that hold the powerful to account as they address the challenges facing communities across America. It is collaborative, multilingual and multi-platform journalism that is urgently needed. In 2023, the IRE Awards honored Futuro Investiga for the outstanding audio journalism investigation of the year.

ABOUT THE TEXAS TRIBUNE
The Texas Tribune is the only nonpartisan, digital, member-supported media organization that informs — and engages with — Texans about public policy, politics, government and state affairs. The independent news organization has been dedicated to covering the Uvalde community, its resilience and its future, as well as holding staff accountable since the tragedy and examining policies and their implications.

FRONTLINE Press contact:
FRONT LINE — Anne Hustedfrontlinemedia@wgbh.org
The media of the future - Raul Perezraul@futuromediagroup.org
Texas Tribune -press@texastribune.org