Updated Jun 28, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Former Uvalde school cops indicted over disastrous response to 2022 shooting

A memorial dedicated to the 19 children and two adults murdered on May 24, 2022 during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School is seen on May 24, 2023 in Uvalde, Texas. Today marks the 1-year anniversary of the mass shooting at the school. — A memorial dedicated to the 19 children and two adults murdered on May 24, 2022 during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School is seen one year later in Uvalde, Texas. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Uvalde school district's former police chief failed to identify an active shooting and slowed law enforcement's response to a gunman who was "hunting" victims, according to an indictment unsealed Friday, the AP reported.

The big picture: The fired former chief Pedro "Pete" Arredondo and former school police officer Adrian Gonzales were the first people to be charged on Thursday over the response to the shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers in May 2022.

They were indicted on child endangerment charges over the response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, the San Antonio Express-News first reported on Thursday.
The Uvalde school board voted unanimously to fire Arredondo that August. Families of the shooting victims called for police to face criminal charges amid criticism that a delayed law enforcement response had cost lives.

Driving the news: Arredondo was released on Thursday night after briefly being booked into jail, per AP.

He faces 10 felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child.
Arredondo allegedly ordered the initial responding offers to evacuate the building instead of confronting the shooter, AP reports.

What they're saying: "As with the rest of the Uvalde community, we have only just learned about the grand jury decision regarding two indictments being issued," a spokesperson for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District said in an emailed statement Thursday night.

"As we have done and continue to do, we extend our sincerest sympathies to all who lost loved ones. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this challenging situation."

Zoom in: A damning Department of Justice report published in January on law enforcement's mishandling of the incident found failure among police leadership contributed to a 77-minute delay before police finally breached a door to a classroom and killed the lone gunman.

A Texas legislative committee also found that police on the scene lacked clear leadership and communication, as well as urgency to stop the gunman.
However, an independent report released in March did not assign blame to local law enforcement officers and defended their actions in response to the massacre.

More from Axios:

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional details.

Add Axios on Google

Former Uvalde school cops indicted over disastrous response to 2022 shooting

What to read next