Former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo has been charged in connection with the investigation into the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, according to court records.
According to the indictment, Arredondo was charged with 10 counts of child abandonment and child endangerment in connection with the 10 surviving students at Robb Elementary School.
Sheriff Ruben Nolasco confirmed to ABC News that Arredondo was booked into the Uvalde County Jail on Thursday night and then released.
A second person has also been charged, according to ABC Austin affiliate KVUE. KVUE, the San Antonio Express-News and the Uvalde Leader-News reported that the second person charged is former Uvalde School District police officer Adrian Gonzalez. ABC News has not independently confirmed the second indictment.
The charges were first reported by the San Antonio Express-News.
According to the indictment, after hearing gunshots, Arredondo failed to recognize the shooter as the shooter and did not respond as trained, instead calling in SWAT, which delayed the police response.
The indictment further alleges that the defendants chose to negotiate with the shooter instead of confronting him, failed to provide keys and entry tools in a timely manner, failed to ensure that classroom doors were locked, failed to follow the school district’s active shooter policy, and failed to develop an immediate plan of action.
In a recorded interview with investigators the day after the shooting, Arredondo told officers he did not consider himself an “incident commander,” contrary to the shooter’s plan that he had devised. Arredondo was subsequently fired for his actions during the shooting.
The massacre took place at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022, leaving 19 students and two teachers dead.
“The fact that these two people are being held accountable doesn’t change anything to me. It doesn’t bring my daughter back,” Ana Rodriguez, the mother of 10-year-old victim Mayte Rodriguez, told ABC News on Thursday.
Rodriguez said the indictments do not represent “full justice” and that “not everyone who should be held accountable will be held accountable.”
“This is incredible,” Javier Cazares, father of 9-year-old victim Jackie Cazares, said of the charges.
“They’re finally going to bring someone to justice,” he said, adding, “We feel like more people should be charged.”
The Justice Department released a scathing report earlier this year finding “serious failures” before, during and after the shooting, including significant departures from existing active shooter procedures.
Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell opened a criminal investigation into law enforcement failures shortly after the shooting and convened a grand jury in January to consider evidence against hundreds of officers.
Mr Mitchell initially said in May 2023 that he was “optimistic” that the investigation would be completed within a year, but added that it was “not surprising” that it was still ongoing “given the scale of the investigation”.
Ann Marie Espinoza, director of communications and marketing for the Uvalde Unified Independent School District, released a statement Thursday saying, “Our hearts have been and continue to be with all those who have lost loved ones.”
“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this difficult situation,” Espinoza said.
ABC News’ Ismael Estrada, Jenny Wagnon Cote, Josh Margolin and Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.
