The Ovaldi School District Police Chief has resigned from his position on Ovaldi City Council weeks after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Pete Arredondo . said He did not consider himself the responsible person From officials’ response to the May 24 shooting, which left 21 people dead, but Other officials who were there that day said otherwise.
In his resignation letter, dated July 1, Arredondo said “after consideration is necessary, it is in the interest of the community to step down as a member of District 3 City Council to minimize further distractions”.
He called on the community, which experienced one of the worst mass shootings in US history last month, to “continue to support families, continue to support our community, and above all, keep our faith strong.”
Leader Uvalde News He was the first to announce his resignation.
Uvald City Council said in a statement earlier on Saturday that it had not yet received a letter or any other documents from him regarding his resignation. The city council added that the resignation would be “the right thing to do”.
Arredondo . was Missed many board meetings In the weeks following the school shooting, he faced heavy criticism for the apparently slow response of officials to the incident.
Three days after the shooting, Colonel Steve Macro, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Arredondo made the “wrong decision” when he chose not to break into class for more than 70 minutes, even as fourth graders were trapped within two classrooms. They were calling 911 for help, and grieving parents outside the school begged officers to go inside.
Arredondo later said he did not consider himself the person responsible and assumed that someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response.
After the shooting, Ovaldi’s city council voted unanimously against giving Arredondo time off from appearing at public meetings. Relatives of the shooting victims appealed to city leaders to expel him instead.
