“Out of respect for the families who buried their children today and who plan to bury their children in the next few days, no ceremony was held,” Mayor Don McLaughlin said in a statement.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in last Tuesday’s attack. Aredondo has been identified by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) as the man who decided not to disturb the school classroom where the shooter was hiding, but instead stepped back and waited for reinforcements. Although DPS director Stephen McCrow did not identify Aredondo by name, he said the boss had made the “wrong decision” not to engage with the shooter earlier. The mayor initially said Monday that a special meeting of the city council “will not be held on schedule, adding that our focus on Tuesday is on our families who have lost loved ones.”
Although there was no official ceremony, McLaughlin said council members came to the “convenient” town hall during the day to take the oath, adding that Aredondo had come in person to receive the oath and sign documents. .
Aredondo was elected to the council earlier this month. In a statement Monday, the mayor said Aredondo was “properly elected” and that there was “nothing in the Texas city charter, electoral code or constitution that forbade him from taking the oath. As far as we know, we are not currently aware of any investigation by Mr Aredondo. “
There is no response to a request for a follow-up interview
Law enforcement responses – and the boss’s decision not to confront the shooter – have been criticized as new details of the tragedy have surfaced, including terrified students calling 911 in class asking for help as officers stood in corridor. On Sunday, the Ministry of Justice announced that it would review the law enforcement response to the shooting at the mayor’s request.
DPS, meanwhile, said Tuesday that Aredondo had not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with Texas Rangers investigating the massacre.
The school police department and the Uwalde police department are “still cooperating”, but Aredondo recently did not respond to a request for a new interview with investigators, DPS spokesman Travis Considine told CNN.
Arredondo has not responded to numerous requests from CNN for comment.
He did not speak publicly about the shooting after two brief statements to the press on the day of the attack, saying the gunman was dead, but provided little information about the shooting, citing the ongoing investigation and not answering questions.
On Friday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he wanted full accountability for the incident, but added that there was no word on whether the school district police chief should be fired.
“As for his employment status, it is something beyond my control and about which I have no information,” the governor said, adding: “Every action of all these employees will be known, identified and explained to the public. “
Arredondo has almost three decades of law enforcement experience, according to the school district.
The county board approved Aredondo to head the department in 2020. The head of the district, Hal Harel, said in a Facebook post at the time that the board was “confident in our choice and impressed by his experience, knowledge and community involvement.”
Aredondo previously served as a captain in the school district police department in Laredo, Texas, and in a number of roles in the Uwalde Police Department.
CNN’s Kurt Devine, Nick Wat and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
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