UVALDE, Texas — On Tuesday, the Uvalde City Council denied a leave of absence from future council meetings for Pete Arredondo.
Arredondo is the school district police chief who is being widely criticized for his response during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. Arredondo has been heavily criticized for waiting too long before officers entered the classroom and killed the gunman.
Editor's note: The videos attached to this article are from previous reports.
On Monday night, several victims’ family members and community members urged the school board to fire Arredondo.
- “I have four other children that are school-aged and they’re afraid. Frankly, I am too. Having Pete still employed knowing he is incapable of decision-making that saves lives is terrifying,” victim Uziyah Garcia's uncle, Brett Cross said.
- “I find it shameful that we had almost 100 officers on the scene, and I had to leave work and save my own (child),” Angeli Gomez said.
- “The thing I can’t wrap my mind around is how Mr. Arredondo is still with the program,” Uvalde resident Jesus Rizo said.
Arredondo is also a newly-elected Uvalde City Council member. He was elected just before the shooting and sworn in after.
Arredondo skipped the first city council meeting earlier this month.
Before the council denied his leave of absence, council members had questions about how long he would be excused and the reason why he would be excused.