Uvalde families still feel frustrated despite accusations

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Two indictments against former Uvalde, Texas, schools police officers are the first charges against law enforcement for the botched response that saw hundreds of officers waiting more than an hour to confront an 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.

For some Uvalde families who have spent the past two years demanding accountability from police, the indictments have brought a mix of relief and frustration. Many wonder why more officers weren’t charged for waiting to enter the classroom, where some victims were dying or begging for help, to help bring a quicker end to one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.

Former Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo and former officer Adrian Gonzales were indicted June 26 by a Uvalde County grand jury on multiple counts of endangerment and abandonment of children due to their actions and their inability to immediately confront the shooter. They were among the first of nearly 400 federal, state and local officers who converged on the school that day.

“I want every person who was in the hallway to be accused of failing to protect the most innocent,” said Velma Duran, whose sister Irma Garcia was one of the slain teachers. “My sister put her body in front of these children to protect them, which they could have done. They had the means and the tools to do it. My sister had his body.

Uvalde County Prosecutor Christina Mitchell did not say whether other officers would be charged or whether the grand jury's work was complete.

Here are some things to know about the criminal investigation into the police response:

Shooting

The shooter stormed the school on May 24, 2022, and killed his victims in two classrooms.

More than 370 officers responded but waited more than 70 minutes to confront the shooter, even though he could be heard firing an AR-15-style rifle.

Terrified students inside classrooms called 911 while their anxious parents pleaded for police, some of whom could hear gunshots as they stood in a hallway. A tactical team of officers eventually entered the classroom and killed the shooter.

Scathing state and federal investigative reports into the police response have listed “cascading failures” in training, communications, leadership and technology.

The accusations

The indictment against Arredondo, who was the on-scene commander during the shooting, accused the chief of delaying the police response even though he heard gunshots and was informed that injured children were in classrooms and that a teacher had been shot.

Arredondo called a SWAT team, ordered the first officers to leave the building and attempted to negotiate with the 18-year-old shooter, according to the indictment. The grand jury said it considered his actions criminal negligence.

Gonzales was accused of abandoning his training and failing to confront the shooter, even after hearing gunshots while he stood in a hallway.

All charges are felonies punishable by up to two years in prison if convicted.

Arredondo said in a 2022 interview with the Texas Tribune that he tried to “eliminate any threats and protect students and staff.” Gonzalez's attorney on Friday called the charges “unprecedented in the state of Texas” and said the officer believes he did not violate any laws or school district policies.

The first U.S. law enforcement officer ever tried for failing to act during a campus shooting was a Florida campus sheriff’s deputy who failed to enter a classroom to confront the shooter in the 2018 Parkland shooting. The deputy, who was fired, was acquitted of negligence last year. A lawsuit filed by the victims’ families and survivors is ongoing.

The trials

The families are seeking accountability from authorities in other state and federal courts. Several have filed multiple civil lawsuits.

Two days before the second anniversary of the shooting, the families of 19 victims filed a $500 million lawsuit against nearly 100 state police officers who participated in the botched response. The complaint accuses the officers of failing to follow active shooter training and failing to confront the shooter. The highest-ranking Department of Public Safety official named as a defendant is South Texas Regional Director Victor Escalon.

The same families also reached a $2 million settlement with the city, under which city leaders promised higher standards for recruiting and training local police.

On May 24, a group of families sued Meta Platforms, owner of Instagram, and the creator of the video game Call of Duty, claiming the companies were responsible for the weapons used by the teenage shooter.

They also filed another lawsuit against gun manufacturer Daniel Defense, which made the AR-style rifle used by the shooter.