Disgraced ex-Uvalde school police chief, former officer indicted over botched response to mass shooting that killed 21
Two former Uvalde school police officers — including disgraced ex-Chief Pete Arredondo — were indicted Thursday for their botched response to the 2022 shooting that left 21 dead.
Arredondo and former Officer Adrian Gonzales were indicted by a grand jury for the felony charges of abandoning and endangering a child, Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell told the Uvalde Leader-News.
The UCISD chief turned himself in and was booked at the Uvalde County jail Thursday, while Gonzales was expected to enter into custody Friday morning, according to reports.
Mitchell convened the grand jury tasked with assessing law enforcement’s response to the shooting in January — the same month the Department of Justice released a damning report that police exhibited “cascading failures” while responding to the tragedy.
Nineteen fourth graders and two teachers were killed when gunman Salvatore Ramos, 18, stormed into Robb Elementary School with an AR-15-style rifle.
The mass killing spree lasted more than an hour as officers waited outside, mistakingly treating the shooting as a barricaded suspect incident instead of an active shooter situation.
Arredondo and his officers did not even attempt to enter the rooms until a tactical team arrived 77 minutes after the violence began, security footage showed.
Arrendo, who was the on-site commander during the attack, and Gonzales were among the officers made aware that teacher Eva Mireles had been shot before they stormed the school.
Both, and three others, were suspended from their positions shortly after the tragedy.
The indictments mark the first criminal charges filed in the school massacre.
Mitchell’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
