A Texas grand jury issues indictments Thursday to former Uvalde school police chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo and former officer Adrian Gonzales in connection to the Robb Elementary School shooting in which 19 elementary students and two teachers were killed.
Both officers are currently facing charges related to abandoning/endangering a child and a state jail felony, according to Express News. The indictments are under seal until the two former officials are taken into custody. The two are the first to be charged in connection to the May 2022 incident. (RELATED: Reporter Presses DPS Director On How Many Kids Could Have Been Saved If Door Was Breached)
The Texas grand jury has undergone a six-month investigation into the matter and in-person testimonies were conducted, reportedly including one from Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Col. Steve McCraw, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Following the incident, the DPS received backlash for their handling as two troopers were fired after stalling during the massacre.
During the shooting, 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos barricaded himself in the fourth-grade classroom of Robb Elementary school reportedly 30-60 minutes before authorities began to engage. Despite arriving on the scene at 11:44 a.m. officials didn’t enter the school until approximately 12:50 p.m., CNN reported at the time.
The former Uvalde school police chief and an officer have been indicted in the first criminal charges filed over the failed response to the 2022 shooting https://t.co/zYViZce2OD
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 27, 2024
A U.S. Department of Justice report from January called out the “cascading failures” in the officers’ response, leading to the deaths of the students and teachers.
“As a consequence of failed leadership, training, and policies, 33 students and three of their teachers — many of whom had been shot — were trapped in a room with an active shooter for over an hour as law enforcement officials remained outside,” the report read.
McCraw said at a press conference that he did not know how many people could have been saved if authorities initially breached the room, claiming they had been waiting for more equipment and other officers to perform a “tactical breach.”
Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez resigned from his position in March after an independent report cleared officers from the department of their wrongdoings.
It is unclear if the two former officials have been arrested yet, but if convicted they could face two years behind bars and a $10,000 fine, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
