Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas shooting to join City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the decision not to immediately ship officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council just three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, stopped a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the college as the gunman opened fireplace for not less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't beneath an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the suitable determination. It was a mistaken resolution. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information convention. “There were loads of officers to do what wanted to be performed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In accordance with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively threat, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he hung out finding keys that might let him into the school. Throughout this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the assault. Nineteen students and two academics were killed.

Arredondo was not current among legislation enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly title him.

Arredondo didn't immediately return a request for comment by NBC News.

Because the neighborhood calls for solutions and pieces together a shaky and conflicting timeline of events, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain at the United Unbiased College District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the place of chief of police for the Uvalde college district, based on the Uvalde Chief-Information.

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

Arredondo told the Leader-Information that he was eager to serve the community, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We need to be sure that we are available wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo advised the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a profitable bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering almost 70 percent of the vote within the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the ground working. I have loads of ideas, and I undoubtedly have loads of drive,” Arredondo instructed the outlet this month.

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

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