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 instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council simply three weeks ago after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school because the gunman opened hearth for not less than an hour.

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

“From the advantage of hindsight where I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the precise decision. It was a mistaken determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a news convention. “There were loads of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra gear and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic menace, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he hung out finding keys that might let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen students and two lecturers 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 instantly return a request for comment by NBC Information.

Because the community demands solutions and pieces collectively 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 at the United Independent 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 college district, according to the Uvalde Leader-News.

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 instructed the Chief-News that he was eager to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We need to ensure that we can be found wherever we are needed,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a profitable bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering nearly 70 percent 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 mentioned. 

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom working. I've plenty of concepts, and I definitely 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 taking pictures.

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