Uvalde School Board Votes Unanimously to Fire Police Chief

On Wednesday night, the Uvalde School Board voted unanimously to fire Uvalde Police Chief Pete Arredondo. 

The vote comes three months after the shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 children and two teachers dead.  It also comes after heated school board sessions, during which parents demanded that Arredondo and others in the school system be fired.

Arredondo, who did not attend the meeting, had been placed on leave last month over his handling of the shooting. There has been public criticism of Arredondo and other officers over the fact that 77 minutes passed between when police entered the building and when they breached the classroom to kill the gunman. During this time, some of the victims were calling 911 for help before they died, which Arredondo says he was not aware of at the time. He also claims that he did not regard himself as the commanding officer. Meanwhile, students will return to class on September 6, either virtually or in temporary classrooms elsewhere in Uvalde.

News sources across the political spectrum similarly pointed out that not only was the vote unanimous, but that a number of attendees responded to the vote with applause.