The indictments are the first criminal charges brought against law-enforcement officials for their sluggish and widely criticized response to the shooting. The incident, which took the lives of 19 students and two teachers, is Texas' deadliest school shooting.
Arredondo turned himself in to authorities on Thursday and was booked on 10 counts of child endangerment, the Express-News reports. He was subsequently released on bond.
Former officer Adrian Gonzales was charged with 29 counts of child endangerment and is expected to turn himself in Friday, according to the daily.
The Express-News was unable to reach Arredondo for comment, and Gonzales hung up on the reporter who contacted him.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell convened the grand jury in January to look into the bungled law-enforcement response to the May 24, 2022, shooting.
Almost 400 local, state and federal officials convened at Robb Elementary, but they waited 77 minutes to enter a classroom and take down the gunman. A subsequent U.S. Justice Department report blasted officials for "cascading failures" in their response to the deadly incident.
Officials have convened at least five other investigations to examine the police response, according to reporting by ProPublica and the Texas Tribune. However, family members of those slain at Robb have repeatedly voiced frustration about the lack of accountability.
In March, an internal report commissioned by Uvalde City Council cleared the city's police force of wrongdoing. The document's release ignited a fresh round of outage from the families.
On Thursday, Uvalde's district attorney briefed some families about the indictment, the Texas Tribune reports. It's unclear whether other officers will face criminal charges, according to the article.
Jesse Rizo, who lost his niece Jacklyn Cazares in the shooting, told the Tribune he wants to see additional charges.
“I’m really hoping this is just the beginning of indictments that may be coming down,” Rizo said. “There are a lot of officers that need to be held accountable.”
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