NewsU.S. and the World

Actions

Uvalde CISD police chief sworn in as city council member one week after school shooting

Texas School Shooting Police Chief
Posted at 7:37 AM, Jun 01, 2022
and last updated 2022-06-01 10:34:15-04

UVALDE, Texas — The Uvalde school district police chief who was in charge of directing officers during the Robb Elementary School shooting was sworn in as city council member on Tuesday.

This comes after the city’s mayor, Don McLaughlin, said the city council meeting on Tuesday was canceled.

Pete Arredondo was elected to the city council in early May.

McLaughlin told CNN that no swearing-in ceremony was held, “out of respect for the families.”

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed when a gunman went into the school and opened fire in a conjoined classroom.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Arredondo directed officers to stand back and wait for reinforcements before going into the school to confront the shooter.

It took more than an hour for officers to confront the gunman.

On Monday, unnamed officials told the Texas Tribune that Arredondo was not cooperating with Texas DPS’ investigation into the massacre.

CNN now reports that Arredondo said he is “in contact with DPS every day," but did not go into further details.

CNN also obtained a statement from the school district's superintendent Wednesday, in which Dr. Hal Harrell writes, "UCISD has and will continue to work with law enforcement who are investigating the events."

Harrell continues to write, "Because the investigation is ongoing and information is evolving, we are going to reserve comment until all state and federal agencies have completed their review."