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

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Impartial School District, stopped a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the college as the gunman opened hearth for no less than an hour.

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

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the best decision. It was a flawed decision. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a news conference. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be finished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra gear and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic threat, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that may let him into the school. Throughout this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen college students and two lecturers were killed.

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

Arredondo didn't immediately return a request for comment by NBC News.

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 because the police captain at the United Impartial Faculty 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 college district, in line with the Uvalde Leader-News.

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

Arredondo advised the Leader-Information that he was eager to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he would be leading. 

“We need to ensure we are available wherever we are wanted,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a profitable bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering almost 70 p.c 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 need,” the newspaper stated. 

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the ground operating. I have loads of ideas, and I definitely have loads of drive,” Arredondo instructed 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, primarily based in Chicago.