Due to the first funeral for a victim of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, the city’s mayor revealed that newly elected members of the Uvalde City Council would not be sworn in on May 31.
According to a meeting agenda available online, Pete Arredondo, the police chief for the Uvalde school system, was among those scheduled to be sworn in. He was elected to the city council on May 7 and scheduled to take office during a special-called city council meeting on Tuesday. However, Mayor Don McLaughlin has postponed the meeting.
On May 24, Salvador Ramos, 18, fatally shot 19 children and two teachers in a classroom at the school before law enforcement entered the room and killed the teen.
“Our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones,” said Mayor Don McLaughlin in a Monday statement. “We begin burying our children tomorrow [May 31], the innocent victims of last week’s murders at Robb Elementary School. The special City Council meeting will not take place as scheduled.”
According to Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Director Col. Steven McCraw, Arredondo oversaw the law enforcement response during the shooting and prevented police from approaching the gunman for more than an hour.
This delayed response has prompted inquiries about whether authorities could have saved more lives if they had intervened more quickly.
At McLaughlin’s request, the Texas Rangers have stepped up their investigation into the police response to the incident, and the U.S. Justice Department is also looking into the matter.
Despite this, McLaughlin noted that Arredondo would still be joining the council.
“Pete Arredondo was duly elected to the City Council,” added the mayor. “There is nothing in the City Charter, Election Code, or Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office. To our knowledge, we are currently not aware of any investigation of Mr. Arredondo.”
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Texas DPS said on Tuesday that Arredondo has stopped cooperating with state investigators and has not responded to requests for information. However, the Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police have continued to comply with officials.
It is unclear whether Arredondo will be sworn in at a later date or if it will occur discreetly. He was one of three council members set to take office.
