Former Uvalde police chief slapped with 10 felony child endangerment charges



The former school district police chief who oversaw the failed response to the May 24, 2022, elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, has been indicted on 10 counts of felony child endangerment.

An 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School and slaughtered 19 children and two teachers in adjoining classrooms 111 and 112. It was not until 77 minutes after police first arrived on the scene that U.S. Border Patrol neutralized the shooter. In the meantime, Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department Chief Pete Arredondo ostensibly worked against an effective solution and wasted precious time down the hall.

The Department of Justice's 600-page January report on law enforcement's response to the shooting concluded that Arredondo, the de facto incident commander on the day of the incident, "had the necessary authority, training, and tools" but did not ultimately "provide appropriate leadership, command, and control, including not establishing an incident command structure nor directing entry into classrooms 111 and 112."

Extra to ordering officers not to enter the classrooms where the shooter was located, Arredondo dropped his radios at the time of arrival, treated the incident "as a barricaded subject scenario and not as an active shooter situation," and waited for SWAT to arrive.

The DOJ's report made clear that rather than "push forward immediately and continuously toward the threat until entry was made into classrooms 111/112 and the threat was eliminated," Arredondo and those with him retreated after the initial burst of gunfire.

The Texas House of Representatives' 2022 interim report similarly indicated that while in the position to act, Arredondo impotently "remained in the hallway where he lacked reliable communication with other elements of law enforcement, and he was unable to effectively implement staging or command and control of the situation."

The Ulvalde Leader-News reported that Arredondo's indictment this week accused him of "intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, and with criminal negligence" placing 10 children in imminent danger of bodily injury or death by failing to identify the situation as an active shooter incident despite hearing gunshots in the classroom.

The indictment further indicated that upon learning children had been injured, Arredondo elected to direct officers to evacuate the wing before confronting the shooter; failed to ascertain whether the door to classroom 111 was even locked; and failed to "timely provide keys and breaching tools to enter classrooms 111 and 112," reported NBC News.

The DOJ's report had noted the likelihood that the door was unlocked.

Shortly after turning himself in to the Uvalde County Jail Thursday, Arredondo was released on bail.

The Uvalde Police Department noted that it had not been contacted by the district attorney's office regarding any of its staff and presently had no comment on the matter.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that a grand jury also indicted former UCISD officer Adrian Gonzales. Arredondo and Gonzales each face up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

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Uvalde school principal reinstated after review, will now focus on 'healing process,' attorney says



Robb Elementary School Principal Mandy Gutierrez has been "fully reinstated" after a three-day suspension, her attorney said Thursday.

Gutierrez was suspended without pay on Monday after a Texas House investigation into the May 24 massacre of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, found that she was aware of security problems at the school prior to the shooting but had failed to address them.

But the suspension was lifted and Gutierrez permitted to return to work after a review, her attorney Ricardo Cedillo said, according to the Texas Tribune.

Cedillo released a letter from Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell informing Guttierez that she would be allowed to return to work on July 28.

"Thank you for responding to our request for information by submitting your response to the House Investigative Report," the letter states.

"As we discussed today, with mutual agreement, you will continue to serve the District in an administrative capacity," Harrell wrote. "Thank you for helping us as we work through the transition. We look forward to a successful 2022-2023."

A special legislative report found that among numerous "systemic failures" in the police response to the deadly shooting, Robb Elementary School had a recurring problem with maintaining locks and doors. The report identified a "culture of noncompliance" for locked doors "which turned out to be fatal" after the gunman entered the building through an improperly locked door and then entered a classroom, where he slaughtered his victims.

Gutierrez and at least two other school employees had known the lock wasn't working properly, but no work order was ever placed to fix it, according to state House investigators.

However, Gutierrez rebuffed the findings of the report in a letter to the House committee investigating the shooting. She provided evidence that the classroom door locks properly and said she was trained not to use the school's public address system during an active shooting situation.

“It is unfair and inaccurate to conclude that I ever [became] complacent on any security issue of Robb Elementary,” Gutierrez said.

Asked by Axios if Gutierrez felt vindicated after her reinstatement, Cedillo replied: "Vindication is not what she sought. She sought merely to be allowed to continue her efforts to assist in the healing process for the families in the community she loves.

"She understands and respects that the grieving process might involve anger. That is a natural reaction and she respects and empathizes with everything those affected are going through," he continued.

"She prays for the strength to focus on the healing process that will be prolonged and probably never-ending," Cedillo added.

Uvalde school principal placed on administrative leave as parents demand accountability



Robb Elementary School principal Mandy Gutierrez was placed on administrative leave Monday, her attorney said.

Gutierrez was suspended with pay after a special legislative investigation into the May 24 massacre of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, found that she was aware of security problems at the school prior to the shooting but had failed to address them, ABC News reported.

Her attorney, Ricardo Cedillo, did not give a reason for her suspension in a "terse" statement to the Associated Press.

School district officials have also declined to comment on the suspension.

A report by the Texas state House found that among numerous "systemic failures," Robb Elementary School had a recurring problem with maintaining locks and doors. Amid questions regarding whether properly locked doors would have prevented the shooter from entering the building or classrooms, the report found there was a "culture of noncompliance" for locked doors "which turned out to be fatal."

The door the shooter used to get inside the building wasn't locked, and the door to one of the classrooms he entered was probably not locked, the report said. Gutierrez and at least two other school employees had known the lock wasn't working properly, but no work order was ever placed to fix it.

Gutierrez's suspension follows that of school district police chief Pete Arredondo, who was placed on unpaid administrative leave in June. The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District has recommended that Arredondo be fired.

Arredondo has been blamed for the failed police response to the shooting. He was incident commander while the gunman shot up a classroom but failed to follow standard police protocol, resulting in children and teachers dying while officers who were equipped to storm the classroom waited outside instead.

The district school board met Monday and approved a three-week postponement to the start of the 2022-2023 school year until Sept. 6 so that officials could improve school security and provide emotional and support services to students, ABC News reported.

Family members of the victims went to the school board meeting and complained that district officials are continuing to be unresponsive and have not held anyone accountable for their failures.

Brett Cross, whose daughter Uziyah Garcia was murdered in the massacre, told board members that only one of those present had reached out to his family, according to ABC News.

"You care more about your damn selves than you do for our children," Cross said, demanding that someone on the board take responsibility for the failures. "Why have y'all still not taken accountability for y'all's mess-ups? Can any one of y'all look me dead in the eyes and say, 'Look, we messed up?'"

Eventually, board member Luis Fernandez admitted that "everybody messed up."

Bodycam video shows police officer husband of elementary teacher shot in Uvalde being held back from apparently trying to rescue her amid mass killing



Bodycam video shows the police officer husband of a teacher shot at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, being held back from apparently trying to rescue her amid the mass killing at the school in May.

Fox News published a clip showing Ruben Ruiz — his gun drawn — making his way past other law enforcement personnel outside a classroom.

At that point, a voice is heard calling out to "Ruben" in an apparent effort to get him to stop.

"She said she’s shot, Tony," Ruiz tells another law enforcement official, Fox News said. The video shows a law enforcement official placing his hand on Ruiz's shoulder and directing him back down the hallway and away from the classroom.

What's the rest of the story?

TheBlaze reported last month that Eva Mireles — Ruiz's wife and a teacher who was fatally shot — called Ruiz and told him she was dying. But when Ruiz tried to rescue her, he was detained, his gun was taken, and he was removed from the scene, according to Col. Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, NBC News reported.

Mireles, who taught 4th graders, was one of two adults killed in the massacre, along with 19 children. Ruiz is an Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District officer, the network added.

McCraw — who spoke during a Texas Senate hearing in June regarding the police response to the massacre — described what Mireles said to her husband and what happened to him when he tried to take action, the network said.

“We got an officer, Officer Ruiz, whose wife had called him and said she [had] been shot, and she’s dying,” McCraw said, according to video of the hearing. “What happened to him was he tried to move forward into the hallway ... he was detained, and they took his gun away from him and escorted him off the scene.”

Officer husband of Uvalde victim tried to help but was detained, DPS chief saysyoutu.be

McCraw did not say which agency had removed Ruiz from school grounds, KWTX-TV reported.

'I keep telling myself that this isn’t real'

Adalynn Ruiz, the couple's daughter, penned a tribute to her late mother on Facebook.

"Mom, you are a hero. I keep telling myself that this isn’t real. I just want to hear your voice," she wrote, adding that “I want everything back. I want you to come back to me mom. I miss you more than words can explain."

Uvalde to honor teacher who gave life protecting kids in school shootingyoutu.be

'Systemic failures': New report finds nearly 400 law enforcement officers at Uvalde school shooting, blames all agencies for 'lackadaisical approach'



Nearly 400 law enforcement officers were at the Robb Elementary School during the Uvalde school shooting that resulted in the deaths of 19 students and two teachers, according to a new report.

An investigative committee from the Texas House of Representatives released a 77-page report regarding the police response to the Uvalde shooting on Sunday.

The report stated, "There is no one to whom we can attribute malice or ill motives. Instead, we found systemic failures and egregious poor decision making."

The report regarding the May 24 massacre found "an overall lackadaisical approach” by federal, state, and local authorities at the deadly crime scene.

The investigators said there were "shortcomings and failures of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District and of various agencies and officers of law enforcement."

There were 376 law enforcement officers at Robb Elementary School during the shooting – including 149 from the United States Border Patrol, 14 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and 91 from the Texas Department of Public Safety. There were also 25 responders from Uvalde Police Department, 16 from the Uvalde County Sheriff's Office, 16 from the San Antonio Police Department (SWAT), and five officers from the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police.

Despite the massive law enforcement presence, the mass shooter was not neutralized until 77 minutes after the gunman entered Robb Elementary School.

The committee's report noted, "The attacker fired most of his shots and likely murdered most of his innocent victims before any responder set foot in the building. Of the approximately 142 rounds the attacker fired inside the building, it is almost certain that he rapidly fired over 100 of those rounds before any officer entered."

The investigation also found that law enforcement disregarded their own active shooter training protocols.

"They failed to prioritize saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety," the report said.

The committee also faulted better-trained law enforcement agencies for not taking leadership away Pete Arredondo – the former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police chief.

"In this crisis, no responder seized the initiative to establish an incident command post," the committee report said. "Despite an obvious atmosphere of chaos, the ranking officers of other responding agencies did not approach the Uvalde CISD chief of police or anyone else perceived to be in command to point out the lack of and need for a command post, or to offer that specific assistance."

The committee also discovered that school staff broke safeguards, such as leaving doors unlocked and propping them open with wedges or rocks.

(WARNING: Graphic content)

Exclusive Uvalde video shows school shooting, police in hallway after shooter entered classroom www.youtube.com

Uvalde school police chief to resign from city council



Pete Arredondo – the highly criticized Uvalde school police chief – will resign from his city council position, according to a new report.

A few weeks before the mass shooting on May 24 that killed 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School, Arredondo was elected to the Uvalde city council. He was sworn into the position on May 31. However, Arredondo will reportedly step down from the position in the Texas town.

"After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to step down as a member of the city council for District 3. The mayor, the city council, and the city staff must continue to move forward without distractions. I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde,” Arredondo told Uvalde Leader-News.

“As we continue to grieve over the tragedy that occurred on May 24th, we pray for the families involved and our community," Arredondo told the local newspaper. "Uvalde has a rich history of loving and supporting thy neighbor and we must continue to do so. In speaking with other communities that have had similar tragedies, the guidance has been the same… continue to support the families, continue to support our community, and definitely, to keep our faith."

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said the city has yet to receive a resignation letter from Arredondo, but McLaughlin called it "the right thing to do," Fox News reported.

Following the deadly school shooting, Arredondo had requested an extended leave from the city council. However, city council denied his request during a meeting held on June 21.

The chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police department was placed on administrative leave on June 22. The day prior, Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told a state Senate committee that police officers could have ended the deadly school massacre within minutes. However, under Arredondo's command, the mass shooter was not neutralized until 77 minutes after the gunman entered Robb Elementary School.

Arrendondo earns an annual salary of $90,750 as the chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police department, according to Uvalde Leader-News.

A report from last month stated that a Uvalde police officer passed up an opportunity to open fire on the school shooter. The report also said that law enforcement never tried to open the classroom door where the gunman was.

Uvalde police never tried to open doors to classrooms where shooter was, officer passed up shooting gunman before he entered school: Reports



New reports reveal that a Uvalde police officer passed up an opportunity to open fire on the Texas school shooter and that law enforcement never tried to open the classroom door where the gunman was.

The New York Times reported that a Uvalde police officer could have shot Salvador Ramos before he entered Robb Elementary School.

"At least two law enforcement cars arrived in close succession at the school," according to the New York Times. "One was driven by an officer from the small police force that patrols Uvalde’s schools. Another arrived less than a minute later, at 11:32 a.m., with officers from the Uvalde Police Department."

At the time, the gunman was reportedly outside the school – firing into the building and toward a funeral home. Responding officers believed the shooter was firing at them, according to Chief Deputy Sheriff Ricardo Rios of Zavala County.

The two officers took cover behind a police cruiser.

"They wanted to return fire, he said, but held off," the Times stated, adding that one of the officers was armed with a long gun.

Rios said, "I asked him, ‘Why didn’t you shoot? Why didn’t you engage?’ And that’s when he told me about the background. According to the officers, they didn’t engage back because in the background there was kids playing and they were scared of hitting the kids."

The opportunity to take out the shooter purportedly only had a window of a few seconds.

Rios understood the decision, and added, "The Ranger who took my statement even said: 'It's come to the point where we’re second-guessing ourselves shooting somebody because we’re scared. Every bullet has our names.'"

A report from the San Antonio Express-News claimed that police officers never attempted to open the doors at the Robb Elementary School – where the shooter was.

"Surveillance footage shows that police never tried to open a door to two classrooms at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in the 77 minutes between the time a gunman entered the rooms and massacred 21 people and officers finally breached the door and killed him," the San Antonio Express-News reported, citing a law enforcement source involved in the investigation. "Investigators believe the 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at the school on May 24 could not have locked the door to the connected classrooms from the inside."

That source allegedly said that police may have assumed that the school doors were locked. However, the doors are reportedly only locked or unlocked from the outside.

The report claimed that police officers could have tried to open doors instead of attempting to locate keys to gain entry.

Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo allegedly tried to obtain keys to open the school doors.

The Texas Tribune previously reported, "The extrication tools never materialized, but Arredondo had also asked for keys that could open the door. Eventually, a janitor provided six keys. Arredondo tried each on a door adjacent to the room where the gunman was, but it didn’t open."

The San Antonio Express-News reported, "Regardless, officers had access the entire time to a 'halligan' a crowbar-like tool that could have opened the door to the classrooms even if it was locked, the source said."

The Times added, "Ramos entered Robb Elementary at 11:33 a.m. that day through an exterior door that a teacher had pulled shut but that didn’t lock automatically as it was supposed to, indicating another malfunction in door locks at the school."

The San Antonio Express-News noted, "Police finally breached the door to classroom 111 and killed Ramos at 12:50 p.m. Whether the door was unlocked the entire time remains under investigation."

After Uvalde, Should Texas Let School Districts Run Their Own Police Departments?

The onus is on the school districts to prove this model keeps children safe, and is not just another avenue to a government pension.

'We're not going back!': Uvalde superintendent says students will never return to Robb Elementary School; school board declines to punish police chief



The Uvalde school board held a special meeting on Friday where the decision was made for students and staff to never return to the Robb Elementary School. The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District board also took no action against the police chief who failed to confront the school shooter.

"We're not going back to that campus," said Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell at the meeting after a tearful parent said her second-grade daughter was traumatized and "deathly afraid" of going back to the school.

"We have plans for it to become something other than a school site," Harrell added.

During the special meeting of the board of trustees, Harrell said he expects to have a new location for the school in the "very near future."

Also at the meeting, the board decided to not take any disciplinary action against the school district's police chief.

Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo failed to confront the shooter in the barricaded classroom.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw declared that as many as 19 police officers had gathered outside the classroom with the gunman, but did not engage the shooter until approximately 75 minutes after the lethal attack began.

McCraw criticized Arredondo's decision to not engage the shooter, "From the benefit of hindsight, where I’m sitting now, of course it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision, period.”

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the decision not to engage the gunman sooner "may have" cost lives.

Arredondo said he didn't send his officers into the classroom because he believed the situation no longer involved an "active shooter."

However, multiple calls to 911 were made within the school – some were from students inside the classroom with the mass killer. Minutes before the shooter was killed, a girl in the school pleaded to a 911 dispatcher, "Please send the police now."

Two law enforcement sources informed the American-Statesman that Arredondo arrived at the shooting without his police radio and other critical equipment that may have impaired the police response to the rampage.

The gunman was finally shot and killed by Federal Border Patrol officers – who defied local law enforcement's order to stand down after waiting for 30 minutes, according to NBC News.

The 18-year-old killer murdered 19 students and two teachers.

The Texas Tribune noted that Arredondo failed to practice recommended active shooter tactics:

In modern active shooter tactics, police are trained to immediately take down gunmen instead of waiting for backup or additional resources in order to save as many lives as possible. Instead, law enforcement at the scene of the Uvalde shooting requested “specialty equipment” and body armor and organized a tactical team to reenter the school, taking over an hour to take out the gunman despite having arrived at the scene within minutes after the shooter entered the school.

"According to the meeting agenda, Arredondo could have been suspended or terminated," the Epoch Times reported.

During the meeting, Harrell was asked about the investigations into the failure of stopping the gunman in a timely manner – one by Uvalde County’s district attorney and one by the federal Department of Justice.

"I know that people ask about the investigation. I know that investigation’s ongoing. I know the DOJ is reviewing that investigation," Harrell said. "I want answers just like everybody but I don't have answers. They've not given me answers. So I don’t have anything to provide you in that realm. I don't. I wish I did have answers."

Arredondo did not attend the school board meeting, and has kept a low profile since the mass shooting on May 24.

'I'm going in there!': Uvalde mother handcuffed by cops describes running into school during shooting, says police tried to silence her from telling her story



A Texas mother who defied Uvalde police officers and ran into the school during the mass shooting to save her children has come forward to tell her story despite alleged threats by law enforcement for her not to speak to the media.

On the morning of May 24, Angeli Gomez went to Robb Elementary School to see her kids' graduation ceremonies. At first, Gomez didn't want to take photos with her two sons because she was dusty from working at a farm earlier in the day. She reluctantly took a photo with her two boys and then went back to work.

Shortly after returning to the farm, Gomez received an urgent phone call from her mother informing her that there was a shooting at her sons' school. She got in her car and said she drove 100 mph to the school.

Gomez described the chaotic scene at Robb Elementary School after a shooter went on a deadly rampage.

"Right away as I parked, U.S. Marshals started coming toward my car saying that I wasn't allowed to be parked there," Gomez told CBS News.

"And he said, 'Well, we're gonna have to arrest you because you're being very uncooperative,'" the Uvalde mother explained. "I said, 'Well, you're gonna have to arrest me because I'm going in there. And I'm telling you right now, I don't see none of y'all in there. Y'all are standing with snipers and y'all are far away. If y'all don't go to go in there, I'm going in there.' He immediately put me in cuffs."

Immediately after the handcuffs were removed from Gomez, she sprinted toward the school. She got her one son out of his classroom.

The courageous mother then ran to get her second child, but was stopped by police.

She explained, "So I start yelling and I'm being uncooperative, and I'm like, 'Well, y'all ain't doing s**t! What are y'all doing? Y'all ain't doing s**t!.'"

Gomez said the teacher wouldn't open the door to the classroom where her son was and she was escorted out by police. However, Gomez ran back when she saw that her son's classroom was being evacuated.

"There was not one officer inside the school when I ran to my second son's classroom," Gomez exclaimed.

Gomez said she heard gunshots being fired during the evacuation and that it was still an active shooting situation.

"They could have saved many more lives," Gomez said as she broke into tears. "They could have gone into that classroom – and maybe two or three would have been gone – but they could have saved the whole class. They could have done something."

"If anything, they were being more aggressive on us parents that were willing to go in there," Gomez said of Ulvade police.

She told a police officer, "If anything, I need you to go in there with me to go protect my kids."

Gomez said law enforcement was more concerned with parents than going into the school.

Gomez was reluctant to speak to the media recently because she said that law enforcement threatened her. The Uvalde mother claimed that a police officer called her and told her that her probation – from a decade-old charge – could be violated if she continued to talk to the media. Gomez only gave the interview after a judge informed her that she wouldn't be punished for speaking to the media.

The Uvalde shooting ended with 19 children and two teachers dead.

Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo has been widely criticized for his team not responding to the shooting until over an hour after the carnage began.

Arredondo did not have his police radio with him when he arrived at the school, which may have caused a delay in communicating with police dispatchers, according to the New York Times.

Mom who ran into school during Uvalde, Texas shooting discusses moments inside www.youtube.com