Uvalde School Police Chief Pete Arredondo was fired after months of criticism over law enforcement’s inaction to stop the mass shooter who killed 19 kids and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.
The board meeting was held on the three-month anniversary of the elementary school massacre. At the start, attendees held a moment of silence for 21 seconds to honor each of the victims killed in the shooting.
Parents and family members of the 19 fourth-graders who were killed in the shooting called Arredondo a coward during the hearing and said he was disrespectful for not showing up.
The decision to dismiss Arredondo was made in an unanimous vote by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s board.
The news of his ouster brought cheers from victims’ families and survivors waiting for the board decision in an auditorium.
Arredondo is the first officer canned over the flawed police response to the May 24 massacre.
Arredondo has been chastised for failing to order officers to act sooner the day an 18-year-old shooter carried out the horrific attack.
Officers waited for more than an hour to engage the shooter and tend to injured victims who later died at or on the way to hospitals.