Latest news with #PeteArredondo
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Uvalde school shooting: Where things stand 3 years later
The Brief 19 students and two teachers were killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24, 2022. A candlelight vigil will be held in Uvalde on Saturday night. Former Uvalde CISD police chief Pete Arredondo and officer Adrian Gonzales are expected to face trial later this year. UVALDE, Texas - Saturday marks 3 years since the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. On May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were killed when an 18-year-old gunman entered the school's campus and opened fire inside a fourth grade classroom. 19 Robb Elementary students were killed in the shooting. Xavier Javier Lopez, 10 Amerie Jo Garza, 10 Uziyah Garcia, 8 Rojelio Torres, 10 Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10 Nevaeh Bravo, 10 Makenna Lee Elrod, 10 Eliahana 'Elijah Cruz' Torres, 10 Eliana 'Ellie' Garcia, 9 Alithia Ramirez, 10 Jacklyn "Jackie" Cazares, 9 Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10 Jailah Nicole Silguero, 11 Jose Flores Jr, 10 Alexandria "Lexi" Aniyah Rubio, 10 Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10 Tess "Tessy" Marie Mata, 10 Maranda Gail Mathis, 11 Layla Salazar, 10 Fourth-grade co-teachers 48-year-old Irma Garcia and 44-year-old Eva Mireles were also killed. Family members said at the time both died trying to protect their students. What's next A public candlelight vigil, organized by family members of the victims, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Uvalde Amphitheatre. A private event will be held earlier in the night. In 2024, the Department of Justice released a nearly 600-page report detailing the 'cascading failures' by law enforcement on May 24, 2022. Nearly 400 law enforcement officials responded to the campus, but waited for 77 minutes before entering the classroom and confronting the 18-year-old shooter. The police response included nearly 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents and 91 state police officials, as well as school and city police. While dozens of officers stood in the hallway trying to figure out what to do, students inside the classroom called 911 on cellphones, begging for help, and desperate parents who had gathered outside the building pleaded with officers to go in. A tactical team eventually entered the classroom and killed the shooter. The report talked about the vast array of problems from failed communication and leadership, to the inadequate training and technology used by police. A private investigator hired by the city cleared Uvalde city police of missteps. Austin-based investigator Jesse Prado presented his findings in March 2024. Prado stated the department did not commit any wrongdoing or violate any policy. Former Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo and school police officer Adrian Gonzales are the only two members of law enforcement to face charges in connection to the shooting. Arredondo and Gonzales were both indicted in July 2024 on multiple counts of child endangerment. Both have pleaded not guilty. Arrendondo, the incident commander, has said he believes he was "scapegoated" for his role in the response. In December, a Texas judge refused to throw out the criminal charges against the former school police chief. Both Arrendondo and Gonzales are scheduled to go to trial in October, according to the Associated Press. This April, Uvalde City Council unanimously approved a settlement with families affected by the Robb Elementary School shooting. The passage came 11 months after the families announced they agreed to a $2 million settlement with the city. Attorneys representing the 19 families of the victims said at the time they were accepting the city insurance payment because the families did not want to hurt the financial status of the city they live in. As a part of the agreement, city leaders promised higher standards and "enhanced training" for current and future police. The city will also build a memorial to the victims and offer resources to support mental health. The city will also pay for the upkeep of the children's graves. A bill dubbed the 'Uvalde Strong Act' passed the Texas Legislature earlier this week. Texas House Rep. Don McLaughlin, who was mayor of Uvalde at the time of the attack and has been actively seeking change to law enforcement policy since, says the bill would correct problems with training that led to police hesitancy in the shooting. The bill would require officers and school officials to meet annually for active shooter response plan development. It also increases officer training specifically for school shooter responses at primary and secondary school campuses. Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign the bill into law. The Source Information in this article comes from past FOX reporting, Uvalde County court records, the Texas Legislature and the Department of Justice.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Associated Press
Texas prosecutor sues to compel Border Patrol testimony in trial of Uvalde police officer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas prosecutor filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force three U.S. Border Patrol agents who responded to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting to testify in the prosecution of the former school police chief, who is facing criminal charges over the slow law enforcement action at the massacre. The lawsuit from Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell filed on May 9 claims the testimony from the three officers, two of whom were part of the tactical team that eventually broke into a classroom and killed the gunman, is vital to the case against former school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who faces multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment. According to the lawsuit, the agents gave written statements early in the state investigation into the shooting and the response from nearly 400 local, state and federal officers who waited more than an hour to breach the classroom where the gunman was located. Nineteen fourth-grade students and two teachers were killed, and 18 more people were injured, in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. But U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have since then denied multiple requests to make the agents available for testimony about the law enforcement response, their tactical training, equipment and other topics. The information sought 'is extraordinarily significant' because the agents are 'uniquely qualified to clarify how Arredondo's actions, omissions, and orders as incident commander influenced their actions,' the lawsuit said. Customs and Border Protection officials did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment. The lawsuit seeks federal court help because a state court cannot compel the agents to testify on matters that relate to their official duties. The testimony could also be valuable to Arredondo if the agents' accounts present mitigating information for his actions that day, the lawsuit said. And it noted that Mitchell has offered to seek a court order granting the agents immunity for their cooperation and testimony. The lawsuit does not name the three agents but identifies one of them as the 'tactical commander who directed and participated in the entry' of the classroom by officers. The lawsuit said Border Patrol officials have claimed prosecutors can find the information they want from other responding law enforcement agencies. Border Patrol has also said the agents' testimony could reveal classified information or confidential sources, disclose law enforcement techniques or 'interfere with the orderly conduct of CBP business.' Arredondo and former Uvalde schools officer Adrian Gonzales are the only two responding law enforcement officers that day to be charged and are scheduled for trial in October. Both men have pleaded not guilty. According to the lawsuit, because Gonzales was indicted over his conduct prior to the arrival of the Border Patrol, the request to compel testimony from the agents is not part of his case. Multiple investigations into the response have laid bare cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers. Paul Looney, an attorney for Arredondo, said he also has been frustrated by Border Patrol's refusal to let its agents testify, and questioned why prosecutors aren't demanding to speak to more of them. The lawsuit said prosecutors initially wanted to speak with 18 agents, but narrowed it down to try to get Border Patrol's cooperation. 'We want all of them. We want to know what they saw, what they heard,' Looney said. 'One level of government is completely frustrating our ability to know what happened in there.'
The Independent
13-05-2025
- The Independent
Texas prosecutor sues to compel Border Patrol testimony in trial of Uvalde police officer
A Texas prosecutor filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force three U.S. Border Patrol agents who responded to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting to testify in the prosecution of the former school police chief, who is facing criminal charges over the slow law enforcement action at the massacre. The lawsuit from Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell filed on May 9 claims the testimony from the three officers, two of whom were part of the tactical team that eventually broke into a classroom and killed the gunman, is vital to the case against former school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who faces multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment. According to the lawsuit, the agents gave written statements early in the state investigation into the shooting and the response from nearly 400 local, state and federal officers who waited more than an hour to breach the classroom where the gunman was located. Nineteen fourth-grade students and two teachers were killed, and 18 more people were injured, in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. But U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have since then denied multiple requests to make the agents available for testimony about the law enforcement response, their tactical training, equipment and other topics. The information sought 'is extraordinarily significant' because the agents are 'uniquely qualified to clarify how Arredondo's actions, omissions, and orders as incident commander influenced their actions,' the lawsuit said. Customs and Border Protection officials did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday seeking comment. The lawsuit seeks federal court help because a state court cannot compel the agents to testify on matters that relate to their official duties. The testimony could also be valuable to Arredondo if the agents' accounts present mitigating information for his actions that day, the lawsuit said. And it noted that Mitchell has offered to seek a court order granting the agents immunity for their cooperation and testimony. The lawsuit does not name the three agents but identifies one of them as the 'tactical commander who directed and participated in the entry" of the classroom by officers. The lawsuit said Border Patrol officials have claimed prosecutors can find the information they want from other responding law enforcement agencies. Border Patrol has also said the agents' testimony could reveal classified information or confidential sources, disclose law enforcement techniques or 'interfere with the orderly conduct of CBP business.' Arredondo and former Uvalde schools officer Adrian Gonzales are the only two responding law enforcement officers that day to be charged and are scheduled for trial in October. Both men have pleaded not guilty. According to the lawsuit, because Gonzales was indicted over his conduct prior to the arrival of the Border Patrol, the request to compel testimony from the agents is not part of his case. Multiple investigations into the response have laid bare cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers. Paul Looney, an attorney for Arredondo, said he also has been frustrated by Border Patrol's refusal to let its agents testify, and questioned why prosecutors aren't demanding to speak to more of them. The lawsuit said prosecutors initially wanted to speak with 18 agents, but narrowed it down to try to get Border Patrol's cooperation. 'We want all of them. We want to know what they saw, what they heard,' Looney said. 'One level of government is completely frustrating our ability to know what happened in there.'
