The former school district police chief, Pedro Arredondo, has been indicted on child endangerment charges for his handling of the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 students and two teachers dead. The grand jury also indicted another law enforcement officer, Adrian Gonzales, in connection to the incident.
Criticism has been directed at the officers for leaving the gunman unattended with children for over an hour before taking action, resulting in one of the deadliest school shootings in US history.
The district attorney, Christina Mitchell, confirmed the indictments and stated that more details would be released once Mr. Gonzales is booked. The inaction of the responding officers has sparked federal and state investigations into the incident.
Meanwhile, the families of the victims have filed lawsuits against various companies, alleging collusion in marketing weapons to young people. The US surgeon general has declared gun violence a public health crisis, emphasizing the high rates of firearm mortality among children and adolescents in the country.
