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

The police chief who reportedly made the decision not to immediately send officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council simply three weeks in the past after working on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent College District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the varsity as the gunman opened hearth for a minimum of an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't under an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Safety, stated Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the right determination. It was a flawed resolution. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a information convention. “There were loads of officers to do what wanted to be accomplished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

Based on McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic risk, so instead of sending officers in, he frolicked finding keys that might let him into the college. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the attack. Nineteen college students and two teachers have been killed.

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

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

As the neighborhood calls for solutions and items together 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 on the United Independent 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 faculty district, in keeping with the Uvalde Chief-Information.

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

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

“We need to be sure we can be found wherever we are wanted,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a profitable bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering practically 70 p.c of the vote in the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

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