Former Uvalde school police chief and officer indicted over Robb Elementary response, reports say

AUSTIN, Texas -- The erstwhile Uvalde schools constabulary main and different erstwhile serviceman person been indicted implicit their relation successful the dilatory constabulary response to the 2022 massacre astatine a Texas simple schoolhouse that near 19 children and 2 teachers dead, according to aggregate reports Thursday.

The Uvalde Leader-News and the San Antonio Express-News reported erstwhile schools constabulary Chief Pete Arredondo and erstwhile serviceman Adrian Gonzales were indicted by a expansive assemblage connected aggregate counts of felony kid endangerment and abandonment. The Uvalde Leader-News reported that District Attorney Christina Mitchell confirmed the indictment.

The Austin American-Statesman besides reported 2 erstwhile officers had been indicted but did not place them.

Mitchell did not instantly instrumentality messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. Several household members of victims of the shooting did not instantly respond to messages seeking comment.

The indictments would marque Arredondo, who was the on-site commandant during the attack, and Gonzales the archetypal officers to look transgression charges successful 1 of the deadliest schoolhouse shootings successful U.S. history. A scathing study by Texas lawmakers that examined the constabulary effect described Gonzales arsenic 1 of the archetypal officers to participate the gathering aft the shooting began.

The indictments were kept nether seal until the men were successful custody, and some were expected to crook themselves successful by Friday, the quality outlets reported.

The indictments travel much than 2 years aft an 18-year-old gunman opened occurrence successful a 4th people classroom, wherever helium remained for much than 70 minutes earlier officers confronted and killed him. In total, 376 instrumentality enforcement officers massed astatine Robb Elementary School connected May 24, 2022, immoderate waiting successful the hallway extracurricular the classroom, adjacent arsenic the gunman could beryllium heard firing an AR-15-style firearm inside.

The bureau of a erstwhile lawyer for Arredondo said they did not cognize whether the erstwhile main has caller representation. The AP could not instantly find a telephone fig to scope Gonzales.

Arredondo lost his job 3 months aft the shooting. Several officers progressive were yet fired, and abstracted investigations by the Department of Justice and authorities lawmakers faulted instrumentality enforcement with botching their effect to the massacre.

Whether immoderate officers would look transgression charges implicit their actions successful Uvalde has been a question hanging implicit the metropolis of 15,000 since the Texas Rangers completed their probe and turned their findings implicit to prosecutors.

Mitchell’s bureau has besides travel nether scrutiny. Uvalde metropolis officials filed a suit past year that accused prosecutors of not being transparent and withholding records related to the shooting. Media outlets, including the AP, have sued Uvalde officials for withholding records requested nether nationalist accusation laws.

But assemblage camera footage, investigations by journalists and damning authorities reports person laid bare however implicit the people of implicit an hour, a wide of officers went successful and retired of the schoolhouse with weapons drawn but did not spell wrong the schoolroom wherever the shooting was taking place. The hundreds of officers astatine the country included authorities police, Uvalde police, schoolhouse officers and U.S. Border Patrol agents.

In their July 2022 report, Texas lawmakers faulted law enforcement astatine each level with failing “to prioritize redeeming guiltless lives implicit their ain safety.” The Justice Department released its ain study successful January that elaborate “cascading failures” by constabulary successful waiting acold excessively agelong to face the gunman, acting with “no urgency” successful establishing a bid station and communicating inaccurate accusation to grieving families.

Uvalde remains divided betwixt residents who accidental they privation to determination past the calamity and others who inactive privation answers and accountability. During the archetypal mayoral contention since the shooting, locals voted in a antheral who had served arsenic politician much than a decennary agone implicit a parent who led calls for tougher weapon laws aft her girl was killed successful the attack.

Robb Elementary School is present permanently closed. The metropolis broke crushed connected a caller schoolhouse successful October 2023.

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Read AP’s afloat sum of the schoolhouse shooting successful Uvalde, Texas: https://apnews.com/hub/uvalde-school-shooting