The police chief, Peter Arredondo, who reportedly made the call not to immediately send officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council just three weeks ago after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the community.
Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the 19 children were not under an active threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday.
As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a successful bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering nearly 70 percent of the vote in the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News.
Arredondo was not present among law enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly name him. Arredondo did not immediately return a request for comment by NBC News.
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