A Texas law enforcement officer has been blamed for delaying law enforcement’s response to a mass shooting in Uvalde that recently completed active shooting training courses prior to the fatal incident, according to records. As new information emerges, community members continue to question the response of officials to the shooting that left 21 people dead, 19 of them children, and more than a dozen more injured.
On December 17, 2021, Head Pete Arredondo of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) completed an eight-hour in-school training course on active shooter situations at Southwest Texas Junior College, according to a state report staff provided to CBS News by the Texas Commission for Law Enforcement.
Arredondo, who has been working in the school district since 2020, completed eight hours of the same course on August 25, 2020 and 16 hours of a course on “Terrorism Response Tactics – Active Shooter” on June 10, 2019, according to the records.
As of 2018, the Texas Administrative Code requires school district peacekeepers and school resource officers to complete an active shooter response training program approved by the state law enforcement commission. The trainings include a resume to prepare officers for emergency scenarios, according to the Texas School Safety Center.
Despite Arredondo’s training, some have criticized his approach to the recent mass shooting in Uvalde.
Under Arredondo’s direction, about 20 officers stood in a hallway waiting at Robb Elementary School for more than 45 minutes before officers confronted a gunman inside a classroom as students and teachers repeatedly called for help. , officials revealed last week.
According to Texas Department of Homeland Security director Steven McCraw, Arredondo believed the gunman was barricaded in a classroom during the attack and that the children were not at risk.
“Of course it wasn’t the right decision,” McCraw said Friday. “It was a wrong decision.”
Arredondo was due to be sworn in as a board member on Tuesday, but Uvalde mayor Don McLaughlin rescheduled Monday’s special town hall meeting following the shooting, according to KHOU 11, a CBS News affiliate. Despite criticism of the police chief, McLaughlin said that Arredondo The record does not show any crime that would prevent him from taking the oath of office, reports KHOU 11.
A U.S. Department of Justice investigation is underway to review police response to the Uvalde School shooting.
School shooting in Uvalde, Texas
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Tori B. Powell is a breaking news reporter on CBS News. Contact her at tori.powell@viacomcbs.com