Uvalde police chief fired

The Uvalde school district fired police chief Pete Arredondo at a meeting Wednesday after a unanimous vote by parents and survivors. The school board criticized him for not ordering officers to act fast enough in May when a shooter entered Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers. One other officer, Uvalde police Lt. Mariano Pargas, who was the city’s acting police chief on the day of the shooting, is known to have been placed on leave. School will start in the district on Sept. 6, but Robb Elementary students will go to other elementary schools in the area or start school online. 

Has Arredondo responded? Before the meeting, Arredondo’s attorney released a 17-page letter alleging that the police chief warned the district about security issues a year earlier. It also reiterated what Arredondo has been saying since May—he was not in charge of the scene. The attorney wrote that Arredondo is a “leader” who should be “celebrated for the lives saved, instead of vilified for those they couldn’t reach in time." Arredondo in July resigned from a Uvalde City Council seat he won weeks before the shooting. 

Dig deeper: Read Addie Offereins report in Compassion on Uvalde residents trying to heal amid unanswered questions.