Uvalde school police chief not responding to request, DPS says
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(NewsNation) — The chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview in the Robb Elementary School shooting investigation, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety told NewsNation on Tuesday.
The request for a follow-up interview was made more than two days ago, according to Texas DPS. Chief of Police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Pete Arredondo has yet to respond to the Rangers’ request, DPS reports.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Arredondo said he would “eventually” and “obviously” explain his decision making that day, which was called “wrong” by the Texas Director of Public Safety, but wanted to be respectful to the families who were burying their loved ones.
“Whenever this is done and the families quit grieving we’ll do that obviously,” Arredondo said.
Arredondo’s alleged lack of response to the investigation comes as funeral services begin for the shooting victims. Arredondo was also sworn in as a newly elected member of Uvalde’s City Council on Tuesday night, though Mayor Don McLaughlin said they skipped the ceremony because the community was still grieving.
The police response to the Uvalde massacre has come under fire after authorities revealed that the gunman who opened fire on the elementary school was inside the school for nearly an hour while more than a dozen officers waited to confront him despite calls to 911 from desperate children inside the school. Officials say Arredondo made the call that officers should wait to confront the shooter.
“They say they [police] rushed in. We didn’t see that,” said Javier Cazares, whose daughter died in the shooting. “As soon as they heard that gunshot, they should have rushed in.”
A total of 19 children and two adults inside a classroom lost their lives before an off-duty Border Patrol agent fatally shot the 18-year-old gunman. At least 17 others were injured.
Many in the grieving community of Uvalde are also coping with outrage over the reported inaction by police.
Director of Texas Department of Public Safety, Steven McCraw, said, “It was the wrong decision.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared that he was “livid” and that he felt “misled” by law enforcement officials giving him information about the response.
In this combination of pictures created on May 30, 2022 shows photos of 19 children and 2 teachers who died in the mass shooting are displayed at a makeshift memorial at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, May 30, 2022. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) 
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden attend Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, as they try to offer comfort to a city gripped by grief and anger after a school shooting, Sunday, May 29, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) 
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden drive past a memorial site in the town square of Uvalde set up for those killed in the school mass shooting, on their way to Robb Elementary School, Sunday, May 29, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) 
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden comfort Principal Mandy Gutierrez as Superintendent Hal Harrell stands next to them, at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School to honor the victims killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas Sunday, May 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) 
A law enforcement personnel lights a candle outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 25, 2022. (Credit: AP) 
Crosses with the names of Tuesday’s shooting victims are placed outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Thursday, May 26, 2022. The 18-year-old man who slaughtered 19 children and two teachers in Texas left a digital trail that hinted at what was to come. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) 
Crime scene tape surrounds Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Desperation turned to heart-wrenching sorrow for families of grade schoolers killed after an 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself in their Texas classroom and began shooting, killing at least 19 fourth-graders and their two teachers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
“The bottom line would be: Why did they not choose the strategy that would have been best to get in there and to eliminate the killer and to rescue the children?” Abbott said.
Despite Arredondo’s lack of response to an interview request, the Texas Department of Public Safety insists that Uvalde police and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District are still cooperating in their investigation.
The Department of Justice has also stepped in to investigate the shooting to hopefully bring some clarity to decisions made in the school.
A Robb Elementary Memorial Fund account has been opened at First State Bank of Uvalde for the families of Robb Elementary, according to the school district. Donations will be accepted at all FSB branches.
Checks should be payable to the “Robb School Memorial Fund” and can be mailed to 200 E. Nopal St. Uvalde, TX 78801. Donations through Zelle can be sent to robbschoolmemorialfund@gmail.com, according to the school district.
