Who are Pete Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales? Uvalde district officers indicted over Rob Elementary school shooting response

A grand jury has indicted two former Uvalde school police officers for their bungled action after the Robb Elementary School mass shooting in 2022.

By Marita Pinto

Published on Jun 29, 2024 | 04:56 PM IST | 15.6K

Image Courtesy: Uvalde County Sheriff's Department

TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to mass death and shooting.

More than two years after the horrific incident, the first criminal charges have been brought over the response of law enforcement to the Robb Elementary School massacre, according to CNN. The mugshots of former Uvalde School District policemen Pete Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales were made public on Friday after they were indicted in connection with the Robb Elementary School shooting.

Uvalde district officers indicted over Rob Elementary school shooting response

Following the mass shooting event in 2022, the chief of the School District Police was charged with ten counts of abandoning and endangering a kid. According to two Texas state government sources who are aware of the indictment, the tragedy claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers.

Who are Pete Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales?

According to court documents, Arredondo spent Thursday night in Uvalde County jail. It is stated in Arredondo's indictment that the Robb Elementary survivors are connected. According to Sheriff Ruben Nolasco, he was later freed from custody following the bail payment. It was called a massacre when Salvador Ramos, then 18 years old, opened fire, killing 19 students and 2 instructors.

Furthermore, the indictment claims that Arredondo failed to recognize the shooting as an active shooter scenario, which is why the Chief of Police is accused of failing to act promptly. Because it delayed law enforcement intervention, his choice to summon SWAT was also purportedly deemed inappropriate in the circumstances.

Adrian Gonzales is the second person, who has also been charged about the incident and was a police officer in the Uvalde School District. He was charged with 19 charges, one for each child that was killed in the incident, according to the court documents. The indictment further stated that he was charged with placing children's lives in "imminent danger" of dying.

According to the indictment, Arredondo decided to negotiate instead of confronting the gunman. He broke out the tools and distributed the keys slowly. The former police officer allegedly disobeyed the school district's active shooter policy and failed to check the lock on the classroom door. The indictment further charged him with failing to devise a prompt course of action at the time.

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