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

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent Faculty District, stopped at the very least 19 officers from breaking into the college because the gunman opened hearth for at the least an hour.

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

“From the good thing about hindsight where I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the right decision. It was a improper decision. Interval. 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 more tools and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active threat, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he hung out discovering keys that might let him into the varsity. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the attack. Nineteen students and two academics had been killed.

Arredondo was not present amongst 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 Information.

As the neighborhood calls for answers and pieces collectively a shaky and conflicting timeline of events, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain on the United Independent College 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 college district, based on the Uvalde Leader-Information.

The former chief, Leo Flores, resigned after being arrested on prices of unlawfully carrying a gun in a bar and threatening an officer, the newspaper reported. 

Arredondo instructed the Leader-Information that he was desirous to serve the neighborhood, saying he was committed to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We wish to make sure we can be found wherever we are wanted,” Arredondo instructed the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the bottom working. I have plenty of concepts, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo informed the outlet this month.

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

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