Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas shooting to affix Metropolis Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary Faculty to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council just three weeks in the past after operating on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased Faculty District, stopped at the very least 19 officers from breaking into the college because the gunman opened fireplace for not less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children weren't below an active risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the right resolution. It was a flawed determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a news convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what wanted to be finished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active threat, so instead of sending officers in, he frolicked finding keys that would let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen college students and two lecturers had been killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst legislation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly name him.

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

Because the community demands answers 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 keeping 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 told the Leader-News that he was desperate to serve the neighborhood, saying he was committed to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he could be leading. 

“We wish to make certain we are available wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo told the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a successful bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering practically 70 % of the vote within the May 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 am able to hit the ground operating. I've plenty of concepts, and I positively have loads of drive,” Arredondo advised 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 News Digital, based in Chicago.