DPS preparing to fire high-ranking Texas Ranger after Uvalde school shooting response, CNN reports

Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell is the second DPS member to be fired after the Robb Elementary shooting

FILE - Flowers are placed around a welcome sign outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, to honor the victims killed in a shooting at the school a day earlier. In the aftermath of the elementary school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, schools around the U.S. have brought in additional security staff and restricted visitors as they've dealt with a new rash of copycat threats. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) (Jae C. Hong, Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

UVALDE, Texas – The Texas Department of Public Safety is preparing to fire a high-ranking Texas Ranger for his lack of action during the Robb Elementary School shooting response, according to a report from CNN.

Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell was informed Friday of DPS’s decision to fire him, CNN reports.

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He is among seven suspended DPS officers and would be the second member of DPS to be fired after the botched shooting response. Kindell is also the highest-ranking officer to face termination so far, according to CNN.

Kindell reportedly arrived at Robb Elementary around noon on May 24, the day of the shooting, and was “focused on supplying updates to his bosses” rather than making plans to breach the classroom containing the shooter, CNN reports.

“My actions at the scene and during the event were minimal,” Kindell previously told investigators.

Sgt. Juan Maldonado, also one of the seven suspended DPS officers, was fired late last year following his actions during the shooting response. He was accused of not following active shooter protocol.

Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the school shooting -- the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.

You can read more on KSAT’s Uvalde coverage here.

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About the Author:

Cody King is a digital journalist for KSAT 12. She previously worked for WICS/WRSP 20 in Springfield, Illinois.