The killing of 19 students has spark up argument among many, and many are looking for who to blame.
Recently The Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw stated that, school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo made the mistake of not entering the classroom to confront the gunman who killed 19 students and two instructors.
Arredondo was not among the law enforcement officers who attended a news conference on Friday morning.
The incident commander, identified by the San Antonio Express-News as Uvalde CISD police chief Pete Arredondo, believed the scenario was no longer an active shooter, but that of a barricaded suspect, according to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw.
On Thursday, the anguish of families in Uvalde, Texas, was exacerbated by rage and frustration as police chief Pete Arredondo tried to respond to questions about the harrowing hour it took to stop a shooter who started a fire on students and staff inside Robb Elementary School.
As parents began making funeral preparations on what was supposed to be the last day of school, anger grew in the predominantly Hispanic ranching community of 15,200 people over the prolonged police reaction and officials’ failure to clearly explain their actions.
McCraw stated that, an on-scene commander calculated that the situation had changed from an active shooter situation to a barricade issue. Officials took more than an hour to enter, according to McCraw.
Of course, that wasn’t the best move, according to McCraw. It was an error in judgment. Period. That is not acceptable. During this period, no attempts were made to enter the room, according to McCraw.
Who Is Pete Arredondo? Wikipedia
Pete Arrendondo is a 20-year law enforcement veteran who has served as Interim Chief of Police in Uvalde, Texas and is currently serving as Assistant Chief in the Webb County Sheriffs’ Office in Laredo, Texas.
McGraw identified the incident commander as Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde Consolidated School District’s chief of police.
He eventually arrived, accompanied by tactical officers and other officers, as well as other officers and equipment, including a ballistics shield. They went into the classroom where Ramos was stationed and shot to death.
Parents and bystanders at the scene Tuesday slammed Uvalde police for taking too long to engage the shooter, Salvador Ramos, 18, who had entered the school through an unlocked entrance and killed 19 youngsters and two instructors.
How The Texas School Shooting Ended?
Nineteen police officers gathered outside the Uvalde school, but an incident commander prevented them from breaking through the barred door because he believed no more lives were in danger.
The state’s top law officer said Friday that frantic 911 calls from children inside demonstrated that decision was a mistake.
McCraw stated that, the incident commander, the Uvalde school district’s chief of police, assessed that the scenario inside Robb Elementary School had changed from an active shooter to a barricaded subject.
The police sped toward the back of the school, past the shooter who had been crouched between automobiles firing on the school and challenged a guy he thought was the gunman but turned out to be a teacher.