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

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Impartial School District, stopped at the very least 19 officers from breaking into the college as the gunman opened fireplace for at the least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children weren't below an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the appropriate resolution. It was a flawed decision. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a news convention. “There were plenty of officers to do what wanted to be completed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic menace, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he spent time discovering keys that may let him into the school. Throughout this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the assault. Nineteen students and two teachers have been killed.

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

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

As the neighborhood demands solutions 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 at 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 place of chief of police for the Uvalde faculty district, in response to the Uvalde Leader-News.

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

Arredondo instructed the Chief-News that he was desperate to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We wish 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 other candidates, garnering almost 70 percent of the vote in the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-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 bottom working. I have loads of ideas, and I definitely have plenty 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 News Digital, based mostly in Chicago.