After the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, the Uvalde Police Chief has resigned his position as a member of the Uvalde City Council. Pete Arredondo stated that he did not consider himself to be the person responsible for the response of officials to the May 24, shooting which resulted in 21 deaths. However, other officials present on the day said otherwise.
Arredondo stated in his July 1 resignation letter that “after careful consideration, it is best for the community to retire as a member the city council for District 3 to reduce distractions.”
He urged the community to continue to support the victims, support their community, and to remain strong in their faith after the horrific mass shooting that occurred last month in the United States.
His resignation was reported by the Uvalde Leader-News first.
In a statement released earlier Saturday, the Uvalde City Council stated that it had not yet received any correspondence or documentation from him about his resignation. The council stated that it would be the right thing to do and suggested that resignation was necessary.
Arredondo was absent from several council meetings during the week following the shooting at the school. He has been heavily criticised for the slow response of officials to the incident.
Col. Steve McCraw of the Texas Department of Public Safety stated that Arredondo had made “the wrong choice” by not storming the classroom for more then 70 minutes after the shooting. This was despite fourth-graders trapped in two classrooms calling 911 desperately for help, and parents outside the school begging for officers to enter.
Later, Arredondo stated that he did not consider himself to be the one in charge of the law enforcement response and assumed that someone else was.
The Uvalde City Council unanimously voted against Arredondo’s request for a leave of absence to appear at public meetings after the shooting. The relatives of the victims had asked city leaders to fire Arredondo instead.
