Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas capturing to affix City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the decision to not instantly send officers into Robb Elementary College 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 neighborhood. 

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

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

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the fitting resolution. It was a wrong determination. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There have been plenty of officers to do what wanted to be carried out, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra tools and more officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively menace, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that would let him into the school. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen students and two lecturers have been killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst law 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 News.

Because the group calls for 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 Unbiased School 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 accordance with the Uvalde Leader-News.

The previous 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-Information that he was wanting to serve the neighborhood, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he could be leading. 

“We wish to make sure we can be found wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo advised 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 within the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the ground operating. I have loads of concepts, 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 shooting.

Safia Samee Ali is a reporter for NBC News Digital, primarily based in Chicago.