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Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin says he is being kept in the dark about recent developments in the investigation of the city’s deadly school shooting last month that killed 22, including the shooter.
McLaughlin is not even sure whether Pete Arredondo, the chief of police for Uvalde Consolidated Independent, is still on the job, following his absence at a special City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon. The mayor stressed he is pressing for answers.
“We’ve asked for a briefing or something, but I’m not getting it. I’ve been told they’re law enforcement and we’re not entitled to any of it,” he said. “It’s frustrating, but I’m told I’m not law enforcement. … The last thing I want to do is jeopardize this investigation cause I want the truth to come out.”
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Since the local district attorney’s office took over the investigation, the mayor has not received updates because he’s not law enforcement, he said.
McLaughlin is not alone in voicing his irritation over the lack of communication. Last week, Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, whose district includes Uvalde, said he was facing the same problem.
Earlier Tuesday, the City Council unanimously moved during a special meeting to extend its disaster declaration. The mayor said he was reluctant to hold a public event and distract from the grieving families but concluded the declaration needed to be extended. He also pleaded with the press not to pester grieving families at funerals as they mourn the loss of their loved ones.
McLaughlin was unsure why Arredondo, who was sworn in as a city councilman last week, was not in attendance during the meeting Tuesday and noted that he did not personally reach out to him about the meeting.
Arredondo has faced growing questions about law enforcement’s delayed response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School, with reports suggesting officers waited for over 45 minutes outside a classroom barricaded by the 18-year-old suspect. During that time, students in the classroom were on the phone with 911 dispatchers pleading for an intervention, according to police. Details of the children’s calls were not relayed to Arredondo at the time, according to Gutierrez.
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The city’s police chief was on vacation when the shooting happened, and a lieutenant was serving as acting chief, McLaughlin revealed during a press conference.
“I have 100% confidence in my police department here. Look, I don’t know the missteps that went on. Again, whatever mistakes were made, whether it was our agency or any agency involved, everybody is going to have to be accountable and own whatever mistakes were made,” he said.
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McLaughlin also asked the Justice Department to review the investigation, stressing he had the utmost confidence in the Texas Rangers’ investigation while noting “missteps” by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“I’m not blaming anybody,” McLaughlin said. “You were told for a week that a teacher propped the door open with a rock, and at the end of the week, that story was gone, too. That’s the missteps I’m talking about. But look, I’m not here to try this. I’m after facts and answers like everyone else.”
