Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas taking pictures to join Metropolis Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to instantly ship 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 community. 

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

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were not under an active risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the good thing about hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the right determination. It was a mistaken determination. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information convention. “There were loads of officers to do what needed to be executed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In accordance with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active menace, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he hung out discovering keys that may let him into the school. Throughout this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen college students and two teachers have been killed.

Arredondo was not current among regulation enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly title him.

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

As the community demands 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 as the police captain on the United Impartial Faculty 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, in line with the Uvalde Leader-Information.

The former 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 informed the Leader-News that he was eager to serve the community, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he can be leading. 

“We wish to be certain we can be found wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo instructed the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom operating. I've plenty of ideas, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo told the outlet this month.

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

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