Uvalde schools wants to fire embattled police chief after botched massacre response

Uvalde’s top school official has recommended the firing of the school district police chief who was central to the botched law enforcement response to the shooting at an elementary school that killed two teachers and 19 students.

The Uvalde school board is set to hold a special meeting Saturday to consider the superintendent’s recommendation to fire police Chief Pete Arredondo. The announcement comes amid massive public pressure.

Arredondo has been accused by state officials of making several critical mistakes during the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. It took more than an hour for officers to confront the gunman.

There has been growing frustration over who was at fault for the flawed response to the shooting.

“It’s humiliating to see all these agencies fight and point the finger at each other, and no one wanting to take the blame for what happened, no one wanting to step up and be a leader, you know, and say, hey, we messed up,” Angel Garza, step father to Amerie Jo Garza, told CNN. “That means something to us. The fact that everybody’s just running from the situation is humiliating.”

Amid criticism, Arredondo resigned from Uvalde City Council. He has largely avoided speaking publicly about the incident.

The Department of Justice said it is investigating law enforcement’s response to the May school shooting.

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