Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas taking pictures to join City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to immediately ship officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council just 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 Impartial College District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened hearth for at the least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't beneath an active menace, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the correct determination. It was a flawed resolution. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a information conference. “There have been plenty of officers to do what wanted to be completed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In accordance with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively threat, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he frolicked finding keys that may let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered access to carry out the attack. Nineteen students and two teachers had been killed.

Arredondo was not present amongst law enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly name him.

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

Because the community demands 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 because the police captain at the United Impartial 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 college district, according to the Uvalde Leader-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-Information that he was eager to serve the community, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We need to make sure we can be found wherever we're needed,” Arredondo advised the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a profitable bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering almost 70 % of the vote within the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-Information. 

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

“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 informed the outlet this month.

Arredondo is scheduled to be sworn onto the council on Tuesday, precisely one week after the Uvalde capturing.

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