UVALDE, Texas ( Associated Press) — The police chief of the Uvalde, Texas, school district has resigned from the city council just weeks after being sworn in, amid allegations that he failed to respond to the shooting at Robb Elementary School, Which killed 19 students and two teachers.
Pete Arredondo told Uvalde Leader-News that he had decided to step down for the good of the city administration. He was elected to the Third Ward council seat on 7 May and was sworn in in a closed-door ceremony on 31 May, just a week after the massacre.
“After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to resign as a member of the City Council for the Third Ward. To the Mayor, City Council and City Staff Let’s move on without distraction. I think it’s the best decision for Uvalde,” Arredondo said.
The sheriff, who has been on administrative leave from the school district since June 22, has repeatedly declined requests for comment from the Associated Press. His lawyer, George Hyde, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Saturday.
The Director of the Public Health Department, Colonel Steven McGraw, told a Senate hearing last month that on-site Commander Arredondo made “terrible decisions” when the massacre took place on May 24 and that the police response was an “emphatic failure”.
McGraw said three minutes after the attacker entered the school of 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, there were enough armed police to stop the attack, but police officers waited in the school hallway for more than an hour. The shooter continued to shoot his victims, he said. McCraw said the classroom door could not be locked from the inside, but there is no indication that officers tried to open it while Ramos was inside.
