Former Uvalde school district police chief, officer charged over response to 2022 mass shooting

A grand jury has indicted two people on felony child endangerment charges for their role in the 2022 mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, according to local reports.

The indictment charges former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pedro "Pete" Arredondo and former officer Adrian Gonzales with multiple counts of abandoning and endangering a child, a felony under Texas Penal Code, per the Uvalde Leader-News and San Antonio Express-News .

Arredondo turned himself into the Uvalde County Jail Friday evening, the reports said. The indictments will be sealed until both have been served.

Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell told the San Antonio Express-News that the grand jury she convened met for six months before their decision.

This marks the first criminal charges launched against law enforcement officers amid the investigation into the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School, which left 19 children and two teachers dead.

Many believe law enforcement response failed, with the Justice Department releasing a 600-page report earlier this year saying it found "critical failures" in their actions — namely that it took more than 70 minutes for any of the nearly 400 law enforcement officers on the scene to confront and kill the 18-year-old gunman who opened fire in a fourth-grade classroom.

The Justice Department's investigation and analysis of others reported Arrendondo's actions as the effective commander weren't consistent with the expected response during an active hostage and shooter situation.

The chief was fired in August 2022, and the remaining members of the police force were later replaced.