Former Uvalde school police chief who was fired after massacre indicted on child endangerment charges

The indictments were handed down by a Uvalde County grand jury, according to the paper.

This marks the first criminal charges brought over the mass shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers on May 24, 2022.

Law enforcement officers were heavily criticized over their response to the shooting after an investigation revealed that 77 minutes had passed between the gunman, Salvador Ramos, 18, entering the school and a border patrol agent rushing into the classroom to shoot the gunman dead.

Police waited outside while children inside the school called 911 and begged for help. At least two kids bled out from wounds that were treatable had authorities arrived sooner, per the report. Surveillance video footage showed officers waiting in the hallway outside the classroom for more than an hour.

Arredondo was in charge of the law enforcement response that day, which included at least 380 officers from various local, state, and federal agencies. He was fired by the Uvalde School Board in Aug. 2022. The former chief and ex-school police officer Adrian Gonzales were among the first cops on the scene.

Upon his arrival at the scene, Arredondo neglected to bring his radio and attempted to locate a master key to the classroom doors from a safe distance. He stated that he spent over an hour in the hallway trying dozens of keys from a custodian.

Arredondo did not attempt to access any rooms where the gunman or children might be present; rather, he spent an extended period of time searching for a master key and testing various keys at an access location that was remote from the shooter, per the investigation.

The former chief said he advised his officers to refrain from approaching the classroom doors to prevent injury from gunfire. He also advised them to wait for tactical gear, a sniper, and additional keys before taking action.

The DOJ investigation said that police acted with "no urgency," though Arredondo defended his response to the massacre.