Uvalde School Police Chief Defends Response to Shooting

Amid continued criticism of the law enforcement response to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Texas, which left 19 children and two teachers dead last month, Pete Arredondo—who serves as the police chief of the Uvalde school district—has defended how he handled the tragedy.

In comments provided to the Texas Tribune, published Thursday, Arredondo claimed he “never considered himself the scene’s incident commander.” He also pointed to an alleged access issue when it came to opening a door to a locked class room, saying he tried “dozens” of different keys. Furthermore, Arredondo claimed to the Tribune that he and his team “responded to the information that we had” and adjusted their method of response as the situation progressed.

“Our objective was to save as many lives as we could, and the extraction of the students from the classrooms by all that were involved saved over 500 of our Uvalde students and teachers before we gained access to the shooter and eliminated the threat,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, a New York Times report—also shared on Thursday—adds greater context to the widely criticized police response. Among the number of newly reported details that have contributed to the sustained criticism (as well as contradicted Arredondo’s comments) are that Times-reviewed documents show responding officers “waited for protective equipment” at the scene to minimize the risk against them.