The Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo has been branded a ‘coward’ by his neighbor after he changed the status of the shooting from an ‘active shooter’ to a ‘barricaded suspect’.
Critics claim that cops waited for more than half an hour as the gunman continued to kill 19 children and two children who were also locked in the classroom.
According to reports, many students continued to call 911, saying that Salvador Ramos was still opening fire.
Arredondo’s neighbor, Lydia Torres, branded the police chief a ‘coward who failed children.’
Speaking to the New York Post, the 56-year-old said: “Pete Arredondo is a coward. He didn’t do his job. He failed the children.”
Arredondo is currently under police protection as investigators probe whether he had a police radio on him when he decided to change the status.
A police officer on the scene has said that it was a lie that Arredondo told cops to stand down.
“It’s a lie that Arredondo told everyone to stand down. It’s a lie. And we’re all getting death threats. It’s a f*****g nightmare,” the anonymous officer expressed.
This comes after Texas Department head of Public Safety head Steven McCraw slamed the police chief for failing to engage the gunman, mistakenly believing Salvador Ramos had already finished his shooting spree.
McCraw said that the children continued to make 911 calls while locked in the classroom with the shooter as Arredondo and other police officers waited outside the room for over an hour.
“With the benefit of hindsight, from where I’m sitting now, of course it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision, period,” McCraw said.
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