Ex-policemen are charged with the Uvalde massacre
In May 2022, an a Texas elementary school in Uvalde, an 18-year-old shot and killed 19 children and two teachers. The police waited much too long to stop the shooter. For the first time, former police officers are being charged in connection to the massacre.
More than two years after the school shooting in Uvalde, the former school district police chief and another former officer must answer to the charges in court. According to "The Uvalde Leader-News" and "San Antonio Express-News," a Grand Jury indicted Ex-Police Chief Pete Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales.
The men are accused of numerous cases of child endangerment, and they reportedly abandoned the victims, according to the indictment. The "The Austin American-Statesman" also reported of indictments against two more former officers.
On May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old shooter killed 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, before being shot dead by the police. Particularly harsh criticism arose after the massacre regarding Arredondo's actions, who was in charge that day. According to police investigation reports from the state and independent experts from Texas State University, they were accused of being too hesitant. It was discovered that 376 armed police officers waited in the hallway for more than an hour, while they could hear the shooter firing an AR-15 rifle inside. Only then did they storm the classroom.
The slow response, according to experts, was not in line with the guidelines for dealing with a shooter, which recommend confrontation. Arredondo and Gonzales are the first police officers to be indicted in relation to one of the deadliest school shootings in US history.
Arredondo lost his job three months after the shooting. Several of the involved officers were eventually terminated, and separate investigations by the Justice Department and state legislatures accused the law enforcement agencies of failing to respond effectively to the massacre.
- Despite international criticism and investigations, the USA's justice system is now bringing charges against former police chief Pete Arredondo and officer Adrian Gonzales from Texas, who were in charge during the Amok runs at Robb Elementary School, for neglecting their duty and endangering children's lives.
- The recent charges against former Uvalde police chief Pete Arredondo and officer Adrian Gonzales for child endangerment during the Amok runs at Robb Elementary School have sparked a renewed interest in the failure of the US police response to the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, which took place in Texas.
- As American society continues to grapple with the aftermath of the Amok runs at the Uvalde elementary school, where 19 children and two teachers were killed, former police chief Pete Arredondo and officer Adrian Gonzales are now facing charges in Texas for their role in the mishandled police response, adding another layer to the ongoing national conversation about school safety and police accountability.
