Outside his home on Wednesday, Arrondo told CNN’s Aaron Cooper, “I’m in touch with DPS every day.”
“We’re going to be respectful of the family,” he said. “We’m going to do it in the end. When it’s over and families leave in grief, we’ll do it openly.”
This is the first time Arredondo has commented after two brief press releases on the day of the attack, in which he said the gunman was dead but provided little information about the shooting. He did not ask any questions at the time and did not appear in public later.
The school police chief was identified last week as a commanding officer by the DPS, who decided not to force his way into the rooms and instead waited for reinforcements – the children inside repeatedly called 911 and asked for police help.
A customs and border security tactic team eventually entered the rooms using a security guard’s key and shot the suspect, the DPS said.
TPS director Steven McGraw did not identify Arrotondo by name, but said the leader had made the “wrong decision” not to get involved with the gunman too soon. He said the commanding officer decided to treat the situation like a prohibited suspect, rather than an active shooter.
Arredondo worked in law enforcement for nearly 30 years and in March 2020 became head of police at the Uvalde Integrated Independent School District (CISD) Police Department.
In that role, he completed his school-based law enforcement active sniper training According to his professional training file obtained by CNN in December 2021. He also completed a school-based law enforcement action shooting class in August 2020 at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
Inaugurated at a secret ceremony for the City Council of Ardonto
Arredonto was elected to the City Council of Wolde earlier this month, and a special city council meeting was scheduled for Tuesday to administer the oath to him and others.
However, in a statement Monday, Mayor Dan McCallin said the meeting “did not go as planned” and that “our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones.”
Instead, Arredonto took office privately without prior notice to the media. Although there was no formal ceremony, McLaughlin said councilors came to City Hall during the day “at their convenience” to take office, and that Arredonto appeared in person to receive the oath of office and sign the documents.
“No ceremony has been held today as they plan to bury their children in the next few days, in honor of the families who buried their children today,” McLaughlin said in a written statement.
The mayor said in a statement on Monday that Arredonto was “duly elected” and that “there is nothing in the city charter, the election code or the Texas constitution that prevents him from taking the oath of office.
In his brief remarks on Wednesday, Aradonto said the inauguration was “a personal matter” out of respect for the families, adding that the families are now focused.
CNN’s Omar Jimenez, Andy Rose and Rebecca Rice contributed to the report.
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