SAN ANTONIO – Less than a year after Texas’ deadliest school shooting, KSAT Investigates uncovered records showing that San Antonio officials looked into Animal Care Services (ACS) employees for making inappropriate comments near Robb Elementary School.
The incident took place in April 2023 when the group was in Uvalde for a training session, as first reported by the San Antonio Current. Records reveal the group drove to the school in a city-owned vehicle.
According to an email, an unnamed employee reported that seven to eight family members were visiting the memorial when they passed the school. The employee claimed that ACS lead vet tech Paul Trujillo suggested they “roll down the window and yell that we have a gun.”
The suggestion was met with laughter from some in the car. Kennel tech Asia Carter allegedly insisted on rolling down the window to say it to the grieving families, according to the records.
Other comments made in the vehicle included remarks about counting bullet holes and taking selfies at the site, as detailed in the email.
The unnamed employee reported feeling “disgusted” and “disappointed,” calling the idea to visit the school “tasteless.” The employee wrote in an email, “I am used to the dark humor at ACS, but I never thought people could openly mock someone grieving the loss of their child.”
The complaint triggered an investigation by the city’s human resources department.
The investigation also interviewed Johnnie Alvarado, an ACS case coordinator. Records show an employee alleged that Alvarado made a joke about the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary in May 2022. Despite being told not to speak about the incident, employees provided screenshots of texts from Alvarado. One text showed him asking an employee what they had told the city, while another stated he didn’t appreciate the comments made.
“I told them it was strictly educational to view the school,” Alvarado wrote in one text. He also mentioned his plans to delete the texts from his phone.
City records from May 2023 confirmed that the allegations were true. Both Alvarado and Carter admitted to making inappropriate remarks and resigned voluntarily before the investigation was completed.
Trujillo, however, remains an active employee. The city’s human resources department concluded that while Trujillo was present during the incident, “the investigation did not reveal evidence of inappropriate conduct.”
KSAT reached out to Alvarado and Carter for comment but has not received a response.
