Pete Arredondo, the law enforcement official Texas state police said was most responsible for a flawed response to the Uvalde school shooting in May, has resigned from the Uvalde City Council, reports the Texas Tribune. Arredondo, chief of the Uvalde school district police, had been elected to the City Council a few weeks before the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and two teachers. He took his oath of office in secret and has not attended any council meetings. “After much consideration, it is in the best interest of the community to step down as a member of the City Council for District 3 to minimize further distractions,” Arredondo wrote. Voters will choose Arredondo's replacement in a special election.
The school district placed Arredondo, 51, on administrative leave June 22, the day after Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told a state Senate committee that police officers under the command of Arredondo could have ended the shooting within minutes of arriving, but the chief made “the wrong decision” not to do so. For weeks, some residents in Uvalde have called on Arredondo to step down as police chief. At a City Council meeting on Thursday, several family members of shooting victims demanded to know why Arredondo failed to show up for the second meeting in a row. Residents have also criticized local police and city officials, whom they feel have provided inadequate information about the shooting. Whether Arredondo also intends to resign as the school district police chief is unclear.