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 instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary Faculty 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 community. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent College District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the college because the gunman opened fireplace for at the very least an hour.

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

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the precise choice. It was a mistaken determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a news convention. “There have been plenty of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more tools and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

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

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

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

As 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 as the police captain at 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 position of chief of police for the Uvalde faculty district, in response to the Uvalde Chief-News.

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 told the Leader-News that he was desirous to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he could be leading. 

“We want to ensure we can be found wherever we are needed,” Arredondo told 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 other candidates, garnering nearly 70 % 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 those in want,” the newspaper mentioned. 

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the bottom 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 mostly in Chicago.