SAN ANTONIO – Less than a year after the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, records obtained by KSAT Investigates reveal the City of San Antonio investigated Animal Care Services employees for making inappropriate comments in front of Robb Elementary.
The group was in Uvalde for a training course in April 2023, the San Antonio Current first reported.
Records state the group drove to Robb Elementary in a city-owned car.
An unnamed employee told supervisors about seven to eight family members were tending to the memorial, according to an email.
As they drove past the school, the employee said ACS lead vet tech Paul Trujillo suggested to “roll down the window and yell that we have a gun.”
Several people in the car laughed, and kennel tech Asia Carter insisted on rolling the window down so she could say it to the families, records show.
Others commented about counting bullet holes and taking selfies, according to the emails reviewed by KSAT Investigates.
The unnamed employee told supervisors she felt “disgusted” and “disappointed,” adding that the suggestion to visit the school was “tasteless.”
“I am used to the dark humor at ACS, but I never thought people could openly mock someone grieving the loss of their kid,” the employee wrote in an email.
The employee’s complaint led the city’s human resources department to open an investigation.
The city spoke with Johnnie Alvarado, who, according to records, was a case coordinator for ACS.
Records show an employee claimed Alvarado made a joke about the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers inside Robb Elementary in May 2022.
Despite being told not to talk about the incident, employees provided the city with screenshots of texts from Alvarado.
He asked one employee about what they told the city.
In another text, he said they didn’t appreciate the comments.
“I told them it was strictly educational to view the school,” he wrote in a text. Alvarado also wrote that he planned to delete the texts from his phone.
In May 2023, city records show the allegation about the inappropriate comments in Uvalde was true.
Alvarado and Carter admitted to making inappropriate comments, and the city confirmed both voluntarily resigned days before its investigation was completed.
As for Trujillo, the city’s human resources department confirmed he is still an active employee.
In a statement, the city said while Trujillo was present during the incident, “the investigation did not reveal evidence of inappropriate conduct."
KSAT reached out to Alvarado and Carter but has not heard back.
W678162-022625 - Responsive Documents Redacted by akmoreno on Scribd
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