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

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased Faculty District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school because the gunman opened fireplace for not less than an hour.

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

“From the benefit of hindsight where I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the best resolution. It was a fallacious resolution. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There were plenty of officers to do what needed to be completed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic menace, 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 access to carry out the attack. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed.

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

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for remark by NBC Information.

As the neighborhood demands solutions and pieces together a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain on the United Unbiased 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 school district, in line with the Uvalde Chief-News.

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 advised the Chief-Information that he was desperate to serve the group, saying he was committed to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We want to be certain we are available wherever we are needed,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the ground operating. I have loads of ideas, and I definitely have plenty 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.