Uvalde schools police chief misses second city council meeting since
shooting
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[July 01, 2022]
By Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) - Uvalde schools police chief
Pete Arredondo, who is also a member of the city council, missed a
second council meeting on Thursday at which he was to face questions
from the many critics of his response to the May 24 mass shooting at an
elementary school that killed 19 children and two teachers.
If Arredondo misses a third straight meeting, the council could declare
his seat vacant.
This month, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Steven
McCraw said Arredondo, onsite commander during the shooting, made
"terrible decisions" and officers at the scene lacked sufficient
training, costing valuable time during which lives may have been saved.
Last week, the school district placed Arredondo on administrative leave.
He has said he never considered himself incident commander.
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In the meeting on Thursday, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said he has not
been able to reach the offices of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton or
of the Uvalde district attorney, with no one in either office returning
his calls. McLaughlin said the Texas Department of Public Safety was
withholding information about the response to the shooting by various
law enforcement agencies.
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![](../images/070122PIX/news_y53.jpg)
A woman pays respects at the memorial at Robb Elementary school,
where a gunman killed 19 children and two adults, in Uvalde, Texas,
U.S. May 29, 2022. REUTERS/Marco Bello
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Later on Thursday, watchdog American Oversight said
it sued the offices of Paxton and Texas Governor Greg Abbott to make
them release more information related to the school shooting and
their communications with gun advocacy groups after the massacre.
Lawmakers and the public have demanded authorities provide more
information about their response to the shooting. Many parents and
relatives of children and staff have expressed deep anger over long
delays in police action after the gunman entered Robb Elementary
School and began shooting.
In the meeting on Thursday, McLaughlin and city council members also
went into a private session to speak to an attorney about the
various probes into the shooting.
They then took questions. Parents of victims expressed frustration
at the pace of the investigation.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by David
Gregorio)
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