Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas taking pictures to affix City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to instantly send officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Impartial College District, stopped at least 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened hearth for a minimum of an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't below an energetic menace, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Safety, stated Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the proper determination. It was a wrong decision. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news conference. “There were loads of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In accordance with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active risk, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he hung out finding keys that will let him into the varsity. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two teachers had been killed.

Arredondo was not present amongst law enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly name him.

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for comment by NBC News.

As the neighborhood demands solutions and pieces collectively a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain at the United Independent Faculty District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the position of chief of police for the Uvalde school district, in line with the Uvalde Chief-Information.

The previous chief, Leo Flores, resigned after being arrested on fees of unlawfully carrying a gun in a bar and threatening an officer, the newspaper reported. 

Arredondo advised the Leader-News that he was desperate to serve the community, saying he was dedicated to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We wish to ensure we can be found wherever we are wanted,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a profitable bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering nearly 70 % of the vote within the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-News. 

The chief campaigned, largely door-to-door, on communication and outreach “to those in want,” the newspaper stated. 

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the ground running. I have plenty of concepts, and I undoubtedly have plenty of drive,” Arredondo informed the outlet this month.

Arredondo is scheduled to be sworn onto the council on Tuesday, exactly one week after the Uvalde shooting.

Safia Samee Ali is a reporter for NBC Information Digital, based mostly in Chicago.