After months of delay from Newtown police to release the calls from the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, a court order released seven recordings from landline calls made from inside the school on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, who have gone through lengthy efforts to obtain the calls. The remaining calls, which were routed to state police are still pending release due to a separate freedom of information request by the AP.
Prosecutor and State Attorney Stephen Sedensky II claims the reason for delaying the release of the tapes is because the recordings could cause the victims' families more pain, hurt the investigation, and subject witnesses to harassment which might violate the rights of the survivors, the AP reported
Sedensky's arguments were dismissed last week when Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott ordered the tapes to be released Wednesday.
One of the seven calls released was from a woman who told police the gunman was inside the building shooting. Other calls show dispatchers calming callers and asking if the students were protected, according to the AP.
"I caught a glimpse of somebody. They're running down the hallway," a woman said as gunshots could be heard in the background during various times, according to the AP. "Oh, they're still running and still shooting. Sandy Hook school, please."
Rick Thorne, another caller who reported windows being shot out in front of the school, can be heard telling dispatchers what is going on as more gunshots go off in the background.
"There's still shooting going on, please!" the custodian said to the dispatcher, according to the AP. "Still, it's still going on!"
During the call, the dispatcher can be heard telling someone off the call to "get everyone you can going down there."
Kathleen Carroll, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP, released a statement to address the urgency in which the tapes needed to be released.
"We all understand why some people have strong feelings about the release of these tapes. This was a horrible crime," Carroll said. "It's important to remember, though, that 911 tapes, like other police documents, are public records. Reviewing them is a part of normal newsgathering in a responsible news organization."
The AP, and other news outlets, requested the 911 calls and police reports the day of the incident stating it's a regular newsgathering routine. According to the AP, the Newtown Police Department purposefully ignored all requests until an appeal was made on behalf of the State's Freedom of Information Commission.
"Release of the audio recordings will also allow the public to consider and weigh what improvements, if any, should be made to law enforcement's response to such incidents," Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott said, according to the AP. "Delaying the release of the audio recordings, particularly where the legal justification to keep them confidential is lacking, only serves to fuel speculation about and undermine confidence in our law enforcement officials."
