Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas capturing to affix City Council

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

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

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters were not beneath an energetic risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, stated Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the right choice. It was a improper decision. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what wanted to be performed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

Based on McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively menace, so instead of sending officers in, he spent time discovering keys that will let him into the college. During this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two academics have been killed.

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

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

Because the group demands answers and items together a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working as the police captain on the United Impartial School 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, according to the Uvalde Leader-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 informed the Leader-Information that he was desperate to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We need to ensure we are available wherever we are needed,” Arredondo instructed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a successful bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering almost 70 percent of the vote in the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the ground operating. 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, precisely one week after the Uvalde taking pictures.

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