Children died due to his inaction. Yet there is still no comfort in seeing the man arrested even though justice does need to be served. This will not even end here as family of the victims are pressing for more arrests.
The former school police chief of Uvalde, Texas, Pete Arredondo, had his mugshot released after being indicted on child endangerment charges related to the response to a tragic mass shooting in May 2022. Arredondo’s booking photo, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, was made public alongside Adrian Gonzales, another former district officer, on Friday.
BREAKING: former Uvalde, school police, chief, and another officer indicted by grand jury pic.twitter.com/Tn90bQUAYd
— TizzyEnt (@TizzyEnt) June 28, 2024
According to reports from the San Antonio Express-News, Arredondo was indicted by a Uvalde grand jury for abandoning or endangering a child, a serious state felony charge. Details regarding the timing of the indictment were not immediately clear.
Arredondo and Gonzales are the first law enforcement officials to face charges following widespread criticism of the response to the massacre at Robb Elementary School, which resulted in the deaths of 19 fourth graders and two teachers.
During the incident, Arredondo was designated as the incident commander, overseeing the response to the shooting. Gonzales was among the officers from the school police force who responded to the scene.
Despite the involvement of numerous state, local, and federal agencies, and nearly 400 officers, law enforcement reportedly waited 77 minutes before entering the classroom where the shooter had barricaded himself. This delay occurred as the tragic events unfolded inside.
Breaking news. Former Uvalde School police chief arrested on criminal charges two years after a gunman killed 21 people, many were elementary school children. #uvalde #breakingNews #Texas pic.twitter.com/5xHEt2IaGF
— Rebecca Aguilar (@RebeccaAguilar) June 27, 2024
In the aftermath of the shooting, Arredondo claimed that he was unaware of his leadership role in managing the response efforts. Efforts to reach Arredondo for comment were unsuccessful, and Gonzales ended a call with a reporter abruptly.
A critical incident review by the Department of Justice in January highlighted the delayed response in confronting the assailant. According to standard police practices, immediate action to confront an active shooter is crucial to mitigate harm and save lives.
The shooter, armed with a semiautomatic rifle, carried out the attack within minutes, firing more than 100 rounds in a span of two and a half minutes. Despite the urgency of the situation, Arredondo’s decision not to authorize entry into the classrooms where the shooter was located has been scrutinized.
Investigations revealed that Uvalde police officers were prepared to enter the classrooms with protective shields but were reportedly prevented from doing so by Arredondo’s decision, which was described as overriding their intentions.
The former Uvalde school district police chief who oversaw the response to the 2022 elementary school shooting that killed 21 people, including 19 children, was arrested on a child endangerment charge. @PriscillaWT reports.
🔗: https://t.co/u8Oy5IjK1P pic.twitter.com/0Eq34sHRZt
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 28, 2024
Following the incident, Arredondo was dismissed from his position, and the entire school police force was replaced by the district administration. Families of the victims have advocated for accountability, leading to the indictment of Arredondo and Gonzales amid ongoing scrutiny of their actions during the tragic event. Let’s hope police officers all over the nation have taken the lesson from this and paid attention to the extra training that departments did all over America. With the millions of illegals coming into our country thanks to Biden and the Democrats’ open border, we are in trouble. There are now a confirmed 400-500 terrorists preparing to strike our nation, and what better way to attack than hitting 5 or 10 schools at once. We will need heroes at that point, and our anger as a nation will explode on the Democrat Party for inviting such horrors to our nation.
Major Points:
- Pete Arredondo, former school police chief in Uvalde, Texas, faces indictment on child endangerment charges related to the handling of a mass shooting in May 2022.
- Arredondo’s mugshot, along with that of Adrian Gonzales, another former officer, was released following the indictment by a Uvalde grand jury.
- Their charges stem from criticisms of a delayed response during the massacre at Robb Elementary School, where 19 students and two teachers tragically lost their lives.
- Arredondo served as the incident commander during the shooting but reportedly delayed entry into the classroom where the shooter was located.
- The incident prompted a critical review by the Department of Justice, highlighting lapses in standard police protocols during active shooter situations.
Al Santana – Reprinted with permission of Whatfinger News
