Pete Arredondo resigns from Uvalde city council, newspaper reports

On Jul 2, 2022

“After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to step down as a member of the city council for District 3,” Arredondo said, according to the Leader-News. “The mayor, the city council, and the city staff must continue to move forward without distractions. I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde.”

Arredondo’s role in the police response to the May 24 shooting — in which a gunman entered adjoining classrooms and killed 19 children and two teachers — has been under intense public scrutiny and criticism from the Texas Department of Public Safety. That’s in part because more than an hour elapsed before officers entered the classrooms and killed the gunman.

Arredondo’s resignation from the city council “is the right thing to do,” the city said in a news release Saturday responding to the Leader-News’ report. But no one from city government “has seen a letter or any other documentation of his resignation, or spoken with him,” the release reads.

Arredondo had been elected to the Uvalde City Council on May 7, just weeks before the massacre. He was sworn in to the council position a week later.

CNN reached out to Arredondo’s attorney Saturday for comment.

In the statement reported in the Leader-News, Arredondo said that “as we continue to grieve over the tragedy that occurred on May 24th, we pray for the families involved and our community.”

“Uvalde has a rich history of loving and supporting thy neighbor and we must continue to do so. In speaking with other communities that have had similar tragedies, the guidance has been the same… continue to support the families, continue to support our community, and definitely, to keep our faith,” Arredondo’s statement in the newspaper reads.

“As I think about my life, from growing up as a child and to adulthood, Uvalde has held an attraction that is very unique. At the center of that attraction, is our community members. Together, we will keep Uvalde strong. Uvalde strong, Uvalde home,” Arredondo’s statement in the Leader-News reads.

Police response was an ‘abject failure,’ Texas Department of Public Safety director said

Arredondo, the chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department since March 2020, was identified by state authorities as the on-scene commander during the shooting.

Several law enforcement officers arrived at the school within minutes but allowed the gunman to remain in the classrooms for 77 minutes until they finally entered and killed him, according to a timeline from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), which is leading a review of the incident. The lengthy delay contradicted widely taught protocol for active shooter situations that call for police to immediately stop the threat and came even as children inside repeatedly called 911 and begged for help.

In a hearing before the Texas Senate last week, DPS director Col. Steven McCraw called the police response an “abject failure” and placed sole blame on Arredondo.

“Three minutes after the subject entered the West building, there was a sufficient number of armed officers wearing body armor to isolate, distract and neutralize the subject,” McCraw said. “The only…

Pete Arredondo resigns from Uvalde city council, newspaper reports

Police response was an ‘abject failure,’ Texas Department of Public Safety director said

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