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

The police chief who reportedly made the decision not to instantly send officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis 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 Independent Faculty District, stopped a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the school because the gunman opened fire for a minimum of an hour.

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

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the suitable resolution. It was a mistaken resolution. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There were plenty of officers to do what needed to be finished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more gear and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In accordance with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active risk, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that may let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered access to carry out the attack. Nineteen students and two teachers had been killed.

Arredondo was not present among law enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly name him.

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

As the community demands answers and pieces collectively 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 College 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, in line with the Uvalde Chief-Information.

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

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

“We want to make certain we are available wherever we are needed,” Arredondo told 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 nearly 70 percent of the vote within the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom running. I've loads of ideas, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo instructed 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, based mostly in Chicago.