Pete Arredondo Indicted in Uvalde Shooting Response

Pete Arredondo, who was the chief of school district police when a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school in 2022, has been indicted and arrested in connection with the police response. "Mr. Arredondo is currently in our custody," Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco texted Thursday to the New York Times. He said Arredondo is being held on the charge of "abandoning/endangering of a child." It took 77 minutes for law enforcement to stop the gunman that day. The indictment found the failures in the police response went beyond poor decision-making; Arredondo is accused of bearing criminal responsibility for his actions.

Arredondo was in charge of a six-person department that had jurisdiction over Uvalde schools. Adrian Gonzales, a former school police officer, also was indicted, per CNN. The felony counts are the first criminal charges to be filed in the school massacre; the gunman was killed by police. Arredondo turned himself in to Texas Rangers on Thursday, an official with the Texas Department of Public Safety said. The chief was one of the first officers to arrive at Robb Elementary, minutes after the shooting began. He later said he didn't think he was in charge of the response. (More Uvalde mass shooting stories.)