Abandoned victim

Ex-police chief arrested after school massacre

Armored and heavily armed, the police officers waited outside the classroom

(Bild: kameraOne)

While an attacker shot primary school children in a classroom in the US state of Texas, police officers waited more than an hour before intervening. 19 children and two teachers died. Now the officers' inaction has had repercussions in court: the police chief at the time, Pete Arredeondo, has been arrested and another ex-police officer, Adrian Gonzales, has been charged.

The 52-year-old Pete Arredeondo is accused of endangering a child in the May 2022 crime, NBC News quoted prison authorities as saying.

Police officers did nothing for more than an hour
A teenager shot and killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in May 2022 in the worst shooting attack at a US school in a decade. Uvalde police have been criticized since it was revealed that more than a dozen officers waited outside the classrooms where the shooting occurred for more than an hour. The officers did nothing while children died in the rooms. Finally, the officers shot the shooter.

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A damning report by the US Department of Justice in January spoke of "serious failures" in this context. 376 security forces were involved in the operation.

One in three adults in the USA owns a firearm
The USA is repeatedly rocked by gun attacks at schools. Around a third of adults in the country own a firearm, and regulations are lax even for high-powered assault rifles. According to polls, a majority of US voters favored stricter controls on the use and sale of firearms. However, the influential gun lobby opposes additional restrictions.