AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Texas school police chief criticized for his actions during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history says in his first extensive published comments that he didn’t consider himself the incident commander as the massacre unfolded.
Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo told the Texas Tribune that he assumed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School.
An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers behind a locked classroom door that the chief said was reinforced with a steel jamb and could not be kicked in.
Officers did not confront the gunman for more than an hour as they waited on a key that would unlock the door.
An excerpt from the Texas Tribune article reads:
“The only thing that was important to me at this time was to save as many teachers and children as possible,” Arredondo said.
The chief of police for the Uvalde school district spent more than an hour in the hallway of Robb Elementary School. He called for tactical gear, a sniper and keys to get inside, holding back from the doors for 40 minutes to avoid provoking sprays of gunfire. When keys arrived, he tried dozens of them, but one by one they failed to work.
“Each time I tried a key I was just praying,” Arredondo said. Finally, 77 minutes after the massacre began, officers were able to unlock the door and fatally shoot the gunman.
Meantime, Uvalde Mayor earlier this week expressed “frustration” that he ad not been briefed by law enforcement about the ongoing investigation for over a week.
(Copyright 2022 WBAP/KLIF 24/7 News. This report contains material from the Texas Tribue and The Associated Press.)
