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

The police chief who reportedly made the decision to not 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 Impartial School District, stopped at the least 19 officers from breaking into the varsity as the gunman opened hearth for not less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters were not beneath an lively menace, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the correct resolution. It was a wrong resolution. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information conference. “There were plenty of officers to do what needed to be executed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more gear and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In line with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic risk, so instead of sending officers in, he hung out finding keys that might let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen college students and two academics have been killed.

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

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

Because the neighborhood 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 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 school district, in keeping with the Uvalde Leader-News.

The former 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 advised 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 main. 

“We wish to be certain we are available wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo informed 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 nearly 70 p.c of the vote in the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the ground working. I have loads of concepts, and I definitely 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 shooting.

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