The former Uvalde schools police chief, Pete Arredondo, has been indicted for his role in the slow police response to the 2022 massacre at a Texas elementary school that left 19 children and two teachers dead. The indictment was announced by Uvalde Sheriff Ruben Nolasco on Thursday. Arredondo was indicted by a grand jury on 10 counts of felony child endangerment/abandonment and briefly booked into the county jail before being released on bond.
Additionally, former school officer Adrian Gonzales was also indicted on multiple similar charges. The indictments were confirmed by District Attorney Christina Mitchell, who did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
These indictments mark the first time officers face criminal charges in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Arredondo, who served as the on-site commander during the attack, and Gonzales are now facing serious consequences for their actions.
A scathing report by Texas lawmakers that examined the police response, described Gonzales as one of the first officers to enter the building after the shooting began. The indictments were kept under seal until the men were in custody. The timing of Arredondo’s indictment’s public release remains unclear.
Over two years ago, an 18-year-old gunman opened fire in a fourth-grade classroom, where he remained for over 70 minutes before officers confronted and killed him. A total of 376 law enforcement officers were present at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022, with some waiting in the hallway outside the classroom, even while the gunman fired an AR-15-style rifle inside.
State Rep. Joe Moody, who participated in the state lawmakers’ investigation, expressed his hopes for justice and closure for the victims’ families in this process. The office of Arredondo’s former attorney stated they were unaware of whether he had secured new representation. Attempts to reach Gonzales through phone calls were unsuccessful.
Arredondo lost his job three months after the shooting. Several officers involved in the incident were subsequently fired, and separate investigations by the Department of Justice and state lawmakers criticized law enforcement for their botched response to the massacre.
The question of whether any officers would face criminal charges over their actions in Uvalde has lingered in the city of 15,000 since the Texas Rangers completed their investigation and presented their findings to prosecutors. Mitchell’s office has also been the subject of scrutiny, with Uvalde city officials filing a lawsuit in 2022 accusing prosecutors of withholding records related to the shooting and lacking transparency. Media outlets, including the Associated Press, also sued Uvalde officials for withholding records under public information laws.
Body camera footage, investigations conducted by journalists, and damning government reports have exposed how, over the course of more than an hour, a large group of officers entered and exited the school with weapons drawn but failed to enter the classroom where the shooting was occurring. Hundreds of officers were present at the scene, including state police, Uvalde police, school officers, and U.S. Border Patrol agents.
In their July 2022 report, Texas lawmakers criticized law enforcement at every level for failing “to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety.” The Justice Department released its own report in January, outlining “cascading failures” by police, including waiting too long to confront the gunman, exhibiting “no urgency” in establishing a command post, and disseminating inaccurate information to grieving families.
Uvalde remains divided between residents who seek to move past the tragedy and those who continue to demand answers and accountability. The first mayoral race since the shooting resulted in the election of a man who previously served as mayor over a decade ago, rather than a mother who advocated for stricter gun laws following her daughter’s death in the attack.
Robb Elementary School is now permanently closed. The city commenced construction on a new school in October 2023.
