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

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to immediately ship officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply three weeks in the past 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 a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the school because the gunman opened fireplace for at least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were not underneath an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the appropriate choice. It was a incorrect determination. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a information conference. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be performed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In line with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active risk, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he spent time discovering keys that might let him into the school. Throughout this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen students and two teachers had been killed.

Arredondo was not current among legislation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly title him.

Arredondo didn't instantly return a request for comment by NBC Information.

Because the community 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 as the police captain at 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 position of chief of police for the Uvalde faculty district, in response to the Uvalde Chief-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 advised the Chief-Information that he was eager to serve the neighborhood, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he could be leading. 

“We wish to make sure we are available wherever we are wanted,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom working. I've plenty of concepts, 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 capturing.

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