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

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not immediately ship officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council just three weeks ago after operating on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent College District, stopped at the least 19 officers from breaking into the college because the gunman opened hearth for a minimum of an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters weren't under an lively threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the suitable decision. It was a mistaken resolution. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a news convention. “There were loads of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active threat, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that would let him into the college. During this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the assault. Nineteen college students and two academics have been killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst regulation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly name him.

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for remark by NBC News.

Because the neighborhood demands solutions and items 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 on the United Unbiased College 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 school district, based on the Uvalde Leader-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 instructed the Chief-Information that he was desirous to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We want to make sure that we can be found wherever we are needed,” Arredondo advised 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 different candidates, garnering nearly 70 p.c of the vote within the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the ground operating. I have loads of ideas, and I undoubtedly have loads 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 in Chicago.