Former Uvalde school police chief, officer indicted over mass shooting response
Pete Arredondo, the former police chief for schools in Uvalde, Texas, was indicted this week over his response to the 2022 mass shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
The indictment argues Arredondo failed to identify an active shooting, did not follow his training, and made decisions that slowed law enforcement’s response to stop the gunman at Robb Elementary School, The Associated Press reported.
Arredondo was arrested and booked in the Uvalde County Jail Thursday on 10 state jail felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child. He was released Thursday evening.
Adrian Gonzales, a former school officer, was also indicted on similar charges, according to a sealed indictment reported by the Uvalde Leader-News.
Arredondo and Gonzales are the first officers to be criminally charged for one of the country’s deadliest school shootings.
Arredondo’s indictment accuses him of delaying police response to the shooting despite hearing shots being fired inside the school and being notified that students and a teacher were injured. He called for the SWAT team to arrive and ordered the initial responding officers to leave the building. Arredondo attempted to negotiate with the shooter, the AP reported.
Earlier this year, the Department of Justice released a scathing report that found there was a lack of preparation, communication and urgency, resulting in almost 400 members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies standing outside the school for 77 minutes while the gunman was inside.
Students inside the classroom called 911, and parents begged officers to go in. A team of officers eventually went in and killed the 18-year-old shooter.
In Arredondo’s indictment, he is charged with failing to protect survivors of the attack, including one girl who called police and told them, “Please hurry,” the AP reported.
If he is convicted, the charges carry up to two years in jail.
Three months after the shooting, Arredondo lost his job. At least four other members of law enforcement have lost their jobs as well.
The Associated Press contributed.
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The Wall Street Journal - World
Former Uvalde School Police Chief Arrested for Mass Shooting Response
A grand jury indicted Pete Arredondo for his role in the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead. -
The New York Times - Top stories
Schools Police Chief Indicted in Uvalde Shooting Response
The indictment, which comes more than two years after the massacre at Robb Elementary School, is the first set of criminal charges to stem from the attack. -
CBS News - Top stories
Former Uvalde police chief released on bail after arrest over 2022 school shooting response
Pete Arredondo, the former school district police chief in Uvalde, Texas, was released from custody after posting a $10,000 bond, according to the county sheriff. Arredondo was arrested Thursday and charged with 10 counts of child endangerment ... -
The Wall Street Journal - World
The former chief of school district police in Uvalde, Texas, was arrested after a grand jury indicted him for his role in the response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
The former chief of school district police in Uvalde, Texas, was arrested after a grand jury indicted him for his role in the response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead. -
The Guardian - World
Uvalde police indicted over role in slow response to 2022 school massacre
Pete Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales first officers to face charges in one of deadliest US school shootings, reports say. The former Uvalde schools police chief and another former officer have been indicted over their role in the slow police ... -
NBC News - Top stories
Former Uvalde school district police chief charged with child endangerment after shooting that killed 21
The former school district police chief in Uvalde, Texas, who oversaw the response to the 2022 elementary school shooting that killed 21 people, including 19 children, was arrested on a child endangerment charge, an official at the Uvalde jail ... -
CBS News - Top stories
First criminal charges filed in failed police response to Uvalde school shooting
The first criminal charges have been filed in Uvalde Texas, over the failed police response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School two years ago. Former school police chief Pete Arredondo, who was fired three months after the shooting, was ... -
CBS News - Top stories
Former Uvalde school police chief turns himself in to face charges
A new indictment accuses former Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo of failing to identify the active shooting and stop it. Arredondo turned himself in Thursday night on 10 felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child in the 2022 ... -
CBS News - Top stories
New details in arrest of former Uvalde school police chief
There are new details Friday in the 10-count indictment against former Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo. Janet Shamlian spoke with the family members of two of the students who were killed the Uvalde shooting and has their reaction.
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