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

The police chief who reportedly made the decision to not immediately ship officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply 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 Impartial College District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school because the gunman opened fire for at the least an hour.

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

“From the benefit of hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the correct determination. It was a incorrect resolution. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be carried out, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra tools and more officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In line with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively threat, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he spent time discovering keys that would let him into the college. During this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two lecturers were killed.

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

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

Because the community calls for answers and pieces 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 Unbiased Faculty 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 line with the Uvalde Chief-Information.

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

“We want to be certain that we are available wherever we're needed,” Arredondo told 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 different candidates, garnering practically 70 p.c of the vote in the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the ground working. I have plenty of concepts, and I positively have plenty 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 taking pictures.

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