Pedro "Pete" Arredondo, the embattled Uvalde school police chief who led the flawed law enforcement response to last week's school shooting and has remained out of the public eye since, told CNN he is in touch with the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) daily. DPS said Arredondo has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers, who are investigating the shooting at Robb Elementary. The chief said he would not discuss the case while funerals of victims are ongoing. Separately, an exterior door at the school did not lock when it was closed by a teacher before a gunman used it to get inside and kill 19 students and two teachers, leaving investigators searching to determine why, the Associated Press reports. State police had said a teacher propped the door open shortly before Salvador Ramos, 18, entered the school on May 24. They have now determined that the teacher propped the door open with a rock, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus, said DPS' Travis Considine. The door that was designed to lock when shut did not lock.
The teacher initially propped the door open but ran back inside to get her phone and call 911 when Ramos crashed his truck on campus. The first mention of a door left propped open, which officials now say didn't happen, led to questions about the teacher's actions and whether she had made a horrific mistake. Since the shooting, officials have struggled to present an accurate timeline and details of the event and how police responded, sometimes providing conflicting information or withdrawing some statements hours later. State police said some accounts were preliminary and may change as more witnesses are interviewed.