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

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to instantly send officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council just three weeks ago after working on a platform of communication and outreach to the community. 

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

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

“From the advantage of hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the suitable choice. It was a fallacious resolution. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a news conference. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be executed, 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."

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

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

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for remark by NBC News.

As the community demands 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 because 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 position of chief of police for the Uvalde faculty district, in accordance with the Uvalde Chief-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 informed the Leader-News that he was desirous to serve the group, saying he was committed to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he would be leading. 

“We wish to ensure that we can be found wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo advised the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a successful bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering almost 70 p.c of the vote in the May 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 ready to hit the bottom operating. I've loads of ideas, and I definitely have loads of drive,” Arredondo told 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 in Chicago.