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

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly send officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply three weeks ago after working on a platform of communication and outreach to the community. 

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

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

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the suitable determination. It was a flawed resolution. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a news conference. “There have been plenty of officers to do what needed to be done, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more tools and more officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In accordance with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active menace, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he spent time discovering keys that might let him into the school. Throughout this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the attack. Nineteen college students and two academics have been killed.

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

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

As the neighborhood calls for solutions and items together a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain on 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 position of chief of police for the Uvalde college district, in response to the Uvalde Chief-Information.

The previous 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 informed the Leader-News that he was eager to serve the group, saying he was committed to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We wish to ensure that we can be found wherever we are needed,” Arredondo instructed 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 other candidates, garnering practically 70 percent of the vote in the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the bottom operating. I have loads of ideas, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo advised 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.