Pete Arredondo, who previously served as the police chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, was taken into custody on Thursday, over two years after the tragic 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting.
According to CBS News, Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco stated that Arredondo has been charged with ten counts of child endangerment and was taken into custody. He was able to post ten separate bonds, each set at $10,000, and was subsequently released from jail.
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According to a report from the San Antonio Express-News, Arredondo and another officer who arrived at the Uvalde shooting scene have been indicted by a grand jury.
Jesse Rizo, the uncle of Jackie Cazares, one of the victims, expressed his emotions by saying, “It’s very emotional. I knew the day was going to come, but I wasn’t sure how long it would take.”
The school district released a statement to CBS News on Thursday evening, acknowledging that they have only recently become aware of the grand jury’s decision to issue two indictments. They clarified that they have no additional information beyond what has been reported by the media.
Uvalde CISD expressed their deepest sympathies to those who have lost loved ones and acknowledged the difficulty of the situation. They also conveyed their support to everyone affected by the incident.
According to a report by the Express-News, the indictments in question have been brought forward over two years after a tragic incident where a teenage gunman took the lives of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary. The law enforcement officers waited for over an hour before finally confronting the gunman in a classroom, an action that received heavy criticism in the aftermath of the shooting. It’s worth noting that Arredondo, who was fired three months after the shooting in 2022, was a part of the incident.
In the view of Rizo, Arredondo’s arrest is a positive step, and he is optimistic that more indictments will come.
Rizo expressed his disappointment in the officer’s actions, stating that it was clear that what he did was wrong. He believes that the officer could have saved many lives instead of spending a long time searching for keys on a keychain. Rizo expressed surprise that other officers involved were not charged, but he is pleased to see that justice is finally being served.
In January, the response of law enforcement to the mass shooting was scrutinized by the Justice Department in a scathing report that highlighted a range of “cascading failures” committed by the police chief and other officials.
According to a recent statement from the attorneys representing the affected families, Uvalde has agreed to pay a $2 million settlement to the families of the victims of the tragic Uvalde school shooting that occurred in May. The settlement will include compensation for the families of the children who lost their lives in the shooting, as well as the two children who survived.
