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

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Impartial College District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the college as the gunman opened hearth for not less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters weren't under an lively risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, stated Friday. 

“From the good thing about hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the proper choice. It was a improper choice. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a information conference. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be carried out, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra equipment and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In accordance with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively menace, so instead of sending officers in, he frolicked finding keys that will let him into the college. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the attack. Nineteen students and two academics had been killed.

Arredondo was not present among 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 neighborhood demands solutions and items collectively 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 position of chief of police for the Uvalde school district, in response to the Uvalde Leader-Information.

The former chief, Leo Flores, resigned after being arrested on charges 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 group, saying he was committed to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he would be leading. 

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

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

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

“I’m very excited, I am able to hit the ground working. I've plenty of ideas, and I undoubtedly have loads of drive,” Arredondo told the outlet this month.

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

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