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

The police chief who reportedly made the decision not to immediately ship officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council just three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased College District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened fire for a minimum of an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters weren't beneath an active risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the good thing about hindsight where I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the fitting choice. It was a wrong choice. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a information convention. “There were loads of officers to do what needed to be accomplished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra tools and more officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic risk, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that would let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen college students and two lecturers were killed.

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

Arredondo did not immediately return a request for comment by NBC News.

As the community calls for answers and items 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 keeping with 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 informed the Chief-News that he was eager to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We wish to ensure that we can be found wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo told the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a successful bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering practically 70 percent of the vote in the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-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 able to hit the ground working. I have loads of ideas, and I undoubtedly 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 capturing.

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