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

The police chief who reportedly made the decision not to instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply 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 Independent College District, stopped a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the varsity as the gunman opened fire for at the least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't underneath an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, stated Friday. 

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the proper decision. It was a flawed choice. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information conference. “There have been loads of officers to do what wanted to be carried out, 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."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic risk, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that would let him into the college. During this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the assault. Nineteen college students and two academics had been killed.

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

Arredondo did not immediately return a request for remark by NBC Information.

As the group 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 as the police captain at the United Independent 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 school district, according to the Uvalde Chief-Information.

The previous 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 informed the Leader-News that he was desperate to serve the community, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he would be leading. 

“We want to be sure that we are available wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo advised 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 other candidates, garnering nearly 70 % of the vote within the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom operating. I've loads of concepts, and I definitely have loads of drive,” Arredondo informed the outlet this month.

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

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