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 send officers into Robb Elementary Faculty to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council just three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

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

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children weren't underneath an active menace, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Safety, stated Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight where I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the proper choice. It was a improper decision. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a information conference. “There were plenty of officers to do what wanted to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In keeping with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively menace, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he hung out discovering keys that might let him into the school. Throughout this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the attack. Nineteen students and two teachers have been killed.

Arredondo was not current among legislation enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly title him.

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

As the group calls for 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 on the United Unbiased College 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, according to the Uvalde Chief-Information.

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

Arredondo told the Chief-Information that he was eager to serve the neighborhood, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he would be main. 

“We want to be certain we can be found wherever we are needed,” Arredondo told the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the bottom running. I have plenty of ideas, and I definitely 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, primarily based in Chicago.