of the other end of the hall, a body camera shows uvalde school district police chief pete arredondo, the highest ranking officer on the scene also near the close roassroom with office. more and more officers arrive but no one makes a move to neutralize the shooter though clearly some officers know time is of the essence. >> we got to get in there. >> dps is in there. >> we got to get in there. he keeps shooting. >> it's clear police know where the gunman is. >> okay, guys. he's armed. we have him contained. he's going to be on the building on the west side of the property. >> the day after the shooting, at governor abbott's press conference this is what dps director steven mcgraw said happened. >> we had uvalde police officers on scene with the consolidated independent school officers breached. >> law enforcement was there. they did engage immediately. they did contame him in the classroom. those officers that arrived on the scene and put their lives in danger, they saved other kids. they kept him pinned down and we're proud of that. >> as the body and security cameras show, no one i

he has blamed uvalde school police chief pete arredondo for the delayed response. officers waited 77 minutes before taking down the shooter. >> the only thing stopping the hallway of dedicated officers from 111 and 112 was the on-scene command here decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children. >> more than 300 officers with five separate departments respond to the shooting that day. arredondo who was fired last month said he did not believe he was the on-scene commander. meanwhile, the first day of school nerves were unlike ever before for students at uvalde. returning to class yesterday for the first time since the shooting. officers on hand along with new fencing and comfort dogs for the kids. >> i am nervous. very nervous. >> reporter: she was up before the sun determined to start fifth grade. just three and a half months ago, she was in the room next door to where the gunman carried out his bloody rampage. >> i love school so much. even if it happened, i would still go to school. i know it won't happen again. >> reporter: they lost their

reporter: then in august a change in leadership the school board firing former school police chief pete arredondo. >> turn in your badge and step down! >> reporter: painful steps that brought healing too. friday night lights pulling this town together and as only texas football can the coyotes playing their hearts out to start their season with a big win >> they're going to play hard for each other and they're going to play hard for the town >> reporter: pride in a team and town, proving they can make it through anything together morgan chesky, nbc news uvalde >> the whole country rooting for uvalde >>> when we come back, the inspiring new college football tradition. a different kind of wave at this game and why it means so very much >>> finally tonight, labor day weekend marks the start of college football season and also the return of a new tradition, one that celebrates the young heroes off the field >> it's time for one of the coolest traditions -- >> reporter: for 70,000 fans in iowa city, iowa -- >> everybody here turns and waves to the children's hospital behind the stadium >> reporter: --

parents of three children who survived are suing the district, pete arredondo, and others. the complaints seek claims of negligence and emotional distress. it seeks unspecified financial damages. >>> king charles is getting some new change, and russia plans to make a controversial declaration. those are some of the headlines on the mornings newsstand. "the new york times" says russian president vladimir putin plans to announce today the annexation of four provinces in ukraine. he's expected to deliver a speech that some 40,000 square miles of eastern and southern ukraine will become part of russia. it's likely he will downplay military struggles and rising opposition to his partial military mobilization. top u.n. officials are condemning the move. >> any decision by russia to go forward will further jeopardize the prospects for peace. it can prolong the dramatic impacts on the global economy. >> voting was recently held in four ukrainian provinces that are controlled by russia. the west has called the referendum a sham. >>> "the washington post" reports that ginni thomas, t

. >> mccraw blamed uvalde school police chief pete arredondo but said his own officers also share some of the blame. >>> the u.s. has announced another $600 million in military aid for ukraine bringing the total to nearly 16 billion since the war began. the infusion of weapons follows the discovery of yet another mass grave. officials say more than 400 bodies were found in the city of izyum after the russians retreated. >>> a surprising admission from vladimir putin during a meeting with china's president. putin admitting that china has voiced concerns about the war effort. putin's candor could indicate just how badly russia needs help. >>> five miles long. that's how long the line has been to view queen elizabeth's coffin. people coming together in a remarkable display of reverence. meanwhile, new details about security for monday's funeral. about 1,500 military personnel are expected along with rooftop snipers. abc's ines de la cuetara continues our coverage from london. ines. >> reporter: good morning, andrew and rhiannon. today the king travels to wales as part of his tour of natio

tell you the school board recently finally fired the police chief, the school police chief pete arredondoation to all the other agencies, so we want more accountability. we haven't seen any accountability from any of the administrative staff. there were clear failures from key shortages, you know, the safety protocols, all the lockdowns that robb had experienced but yet no increased security. there was no security presence there. the list goes on, and without accountability, how are we supposed to move forward? >> when you say more accountability, meaning you want other people fired or you want to know what the new protocols are? >> i would say both. they haven't been very transparent, so a lot of these protocols, they're not sharing with us. i've asked them certain questions as far as safety committees that they have, and a lot of times it's very difficult to get that information and, yes, as far as people fired, i think people should be fired for this. they know it -- we had so many chances to get it right from the fencing to the prop door to the doorknob that didn't work, i mean all th

and, you know, it has been overshadowed a bit by what happened with former chief of police pete arredondoention seems to be shifting to the texas department of safety. we are going to be looking do they recommend disciplinary action and send the findings to the district attorney. if they do not, the director of dps has the right to take internal action of his own, jose. >> i'm wondering, what was it like for people there to receive the news on the same day students went back to school? >> reporter: well, i was outside of flores elementary here in uvald yesterday and people were receiving this news at the end of the school day and really just starting to process it initially. what i can tell you is this is part of the accountability that parents and local leaders have been asking for and they feel like dps is among the agencies that have not been transparent enough, have not been frank enough, haven't released enough documents. for example, people pushed them to release their sort of a form that explains their policies so they could more easily compare these are the policies, these are the

district police chief pete arredondo was fired at the end of the august after a drawn out battle with the school board. the superintendent hal harrell who faced criticism for noncompliance for safety policy pledges to do more. >> i'm going to dedicate our school year to the two teachers and the 19 wonderful children who lost their lives. and those injured. >> reporter: 21 murals on the sides of buildings honoring those lost. the tributes a constant reminder things will never be the same. >> we're remembering them and their legacies as well. >> reporter: as for the students who now face going back to school in a district marred by tragedy, they say they will turn to each other to move on. >> one heartbeat, one community. and they're all here for each other. everybody knows each other. everybody supports each other, that's what this town is about. >> reporter: and despite schools reopening and things trying to get back to normal here, you know, parents here still want accountability. there's still a lot that we don't know about the shooting and what exactly took place. and parents here

number of the parents was just that it had taken them three months to fire school police chief pete arredondoas the commander at the scene though he didn't believe he was the commander at the scene. and he was fired three months to the day after the shooting. but many parents thought it should have happened a lot more quickly than that. and i think what will -- who will take his place is i think will need to be fully determined. >> yeah. well it certainly is tragic what should be sort of a celebratory time for students, heading back to the new school year, that community is just riddled with uncertainty and our hearts go out to the families and their children as well. thank you so much. elizabeth findel. >>> still ahead, extreme heat in california is putting a major strain on the state's power grid and fuelling devastating wildfires. meanwhile, parts of the south are still under water this morning. we'll have a look at extreme weather impacting millions across the country. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16

i say the word scapegoating that doesn't mean the other people weren't responsible, people like arredondot drip of information. they have everything that they need by way of video, and body cam footage and everything that we need to be able to fully make a full conclusion here, but they keep setting certain people up to try to set up a narrative. and that's a very big concern to me. they haven't told us who the officers are, we don't know what level they are along the food chain at the department of public safety, we have been saying that they have -- they're responsible as an organization themselves, but what i witould like to know is what mccall knew it, when he knew it, and what time, and his leadership team. for 77 minutes these kids sat in a room, braver than any police officer in that hallway. >> do you have confidence that those answers will come? obviously there is an ongoing investigation, there is the ig i just referred to, the district attorney's work. i know you -- go ahead. >> well, i think that the real problem also becomes in -- when you submit things to the inspector gener

the doj, to know one surprise, has arredondo's using candidates that are experience and will be even-handedand to the information. one, it's very telling that team trump would nominate somebody who previously served as a judge in this capacity. granted, they have an elected official and working offer a constable time, but the fact that you are talking about someone who does not know what is to be a judge on the federal level would be very alarming. i think that something that the doj will likely hammer home in terms of how they respond to the judge and how they react. ultimately, the decision will be about who is most qualified to give -- given the nature of the issue a play, and number two, the high level and sensitive classification that many of these documents will be under review. all of that will come -- >> eugene, vice president kamala harris spoke to -- it will air tomorrow on meet the press. you can take a listen to a clip here. >> what do you say to the argument that it would be too divisive for the country to prosecute a former president? >> i think that our country is a country t

blame for what police didn't do that day has been placed on the now fired school police chief pete arredondo. many here criticize the head of the department of public safety for coming out and placing all that blame on one individual and now it seems that there has been some indications here that something has turned up in the internal investigation that the department of public safety has been conducting which has now forced them to have this formal investigation and then suspending these two officers with pay. john, brianna? >> shimon, thank you for that report. >>> 17 months in the biden cabinet remains the same. that is in sharp contrast to trump's musical chairs. >>> plus, the obamas return to the white house today for the unveiling of their portraits. we will break down the history and some drama of unveilings past. >>> and one of america's rising young tennis stars exits the u.s. open. vented car vending machines and buying a car 100 percent online now we've created a brand new way for you to sell your car whether it's a year old, or a few years old we wanant to buy your car so go to

. >> antonia, former uvalde schools chief pete arredondo is out of a job. what other do people want to see? >> it's important to note that some of the security changes are still in the ro ses of being made and parent are anxious to see the processes completed. for example, some fencing needs to go up, hundreds of cam pels still need to be installed across all the different campuses. some parents wanted all that ready to go today. i think the other piece is going to really just be the relationship piece that every single day, every single week and month, this school administration is going to try to prove itself, prove to parents that they're still really prioritizing kids' safety. as arelis just mentioned, there's a lack of trust that goes all around the system. every day, the counselors they've hired, monitors in the school, they need to prove to these parents this is a safe place to be. that's something that's going to take some time. >> arelis you spoke with a family of a 9-year-old girl who was at rob elementary during the shooting and she told you i tr