The former Uvalde school police chief and another ex-officer have been charged over their botched response to the Robb Elementary massacre.
Former chief Pedro ‘Pete’ Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales have been indicted on charges of child endangerment in connection with the tragedy, San Antonio Express News reports.
A total of 21 people – 19 fourth graders and two teachers – died when shooter Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire on May 24, 2022.
The police force was heavily criticized in the wake of the massacre, after it emerged that nobody attempted to confront Ramos until 77 minutes after he began his rampage.
Uvalde School District Police chief Arredondo was in charge of the massive law enforcement response on the day, which saw at least 380 officers from various local, state and federal agencies swarm on the school.
Former Uvalde School District police chief Pete Arredondo (pictured) and another ex-officer have been charged over their botched response to the Robb Elementary massacre
He and Gonzales, a school police officer, were among the first cops on the scene.
The former chief was heavily criticized for failing to engage the shooter, even as children were bleeding out.
He admitted he decided not to try and neutralize Ramos, in hopes of saving the lives of other children.
However, the action contradicted his department’s active shooter protocols and essentially left students trapped in the classroom with Ramos for dead.
Arredondo was immediately placed on administrative leave and fired shortly after.
A DOJ investigation found that leadership failures resulted in delays which may have exacerbated the fatalities.
Salvador Ramos killed 19 kids and two teachers during the rampage on May 24, 2022
Footage showing Peter Arredondo directing armed officers inside the Uvalde elementary school
An investigation conducted for the city of Uvalde also revealed that officers wanted to storm the classroom as soon as bullet proof shields arrived, but they were overruled by Arredondo.
Ramos was eventually shot and killed by US Border Patrol Tactical Unit gunmen who bypassed numerous other officers who had been in the hallway.
Gonzales is hardly featured in the official reports on the shooting but had SWAT training and was an instructor for active shooter training for Uvalde school police.
The criminal charges against the former police are the first in connection with what was the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.
District Attorney Christina Mitchell revealed in January that she had convened a grand jury to weigh possible charges.
As part of the fact-finding mission, the 12 jurors toured the now closed school for around an hour.
The police force was heavily criticized in the wake of the shooting, after it emerged that nobody attempted to confront Ramos until 77 minutes after he began his rampage
Democrat State Sen. Roland Gutierrez has expressed outrage that Arredondo and Gonzales are the only police charged over the failures.
‘If they’re going to indict those two officers, they need to indict the 13 DPS troopers in that hallway,’ Gutierrez told San Antonio Express News. ‘That’s very disturbing to me.’
The entire police force was changed in the wake of the massacre.
But Don McLaughlin Jr, who was mayor at the time of the shooting, suggested there has been a ‘gloss’ over the role of other agencies involved on the day.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates…
