Summary: Shooting in Uvalde, Texas, massacre chronology and testimonies 28:22
(CNN) --
Pedro "Pete" Arredondo, the embattled Uvalde School Police Chief who led law enforcement's flawed response to last week's school shooting and has remained out of the public eye ever since. , spoke exclusively to CNN on Wednesday and declined to answer substantive questions about the massacre.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), Arredondo has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers, who are investigating the shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Outside his home Wednesday, however, Arredondo told CNN's Aaron Cooper, "I'm in contact with DPS every day."
And outside his office minutes later, he told CNN's Shimon Prokupecz that he's not giving any more information while the funeral is underway.
"We are going to be respectful with the families," he said.
"We're going to do it eventually. When this is over and the families are done grieving, then obviously we're going to do it."
advertising
ANALYSIS |
National trauma over Uvalde deepens as disturbing questions about police response
It is the first time Arredondo has commented since two brief statements to the press the day of the attack, in which he said the shooter was dead but provided little information about the shooting, citing that the investigation was ongoing.
He did not take questions at the time and has not appeared in the public spotlight since.
Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in Tuesday's attack, and authorities have so far not answered major questions about why it took police around 80 minutes to break down the doors of two locked classrooms and confront the attacker.
The school police chief was identified last week by DPS as the commanding officer who decided not to force entry into classrooms and instead stand by and wait for backup, even as children inside repeatedly called to 911 and pleaded with the police for help.
A Customs and Border Protection tactical team eventually entered the classrooms using a janitor's keys and fatally shot the suspect, DPS said.
DPS Director Steven McCraw did not identify Arredondo by name, but said the chief made the "wrong decision" not to engage the shooter sooner.
He said the commanding officer decided to treat the situation as an entrenched suspect rather than an attacker.
Established law enforcement policy, created in the wake of the 1999 Columbine school shooting, calls for police to apprehend the assailant as soon as possible in an attacker situation.
Massacre in Texas: Summary of the beginning of the funerals of the children and teachers of Uvalde 9:06
Arredondo swears his position in the municipal council of Uvalde in a secret ceremony
Arredondo was elected to the Uvalde city council earlier this month, and a special council meeting was scheduled to take place on Tuesday to swear him in and others.
However, Mayor Don McLaughlin said in a statement Monday that the meeting "will not take place as scheduled," adding that "our focus on Tuesday is on our families who have lost loved ones."
Did the police fail during the Uvalde, Texas school shooting?
A former FBI special agent responds
Instead, Arredondo was sworn in privately without prior notice to the media.
Although there was no formal ceremony, McLaughlin said council members came "at his convenience" during the day to be sworn in, adding that Arredondo appeared in person to be sworn in and sign paperwork.
"Out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who plan to bury their children in the coming days, no ceremony was held," McLaughlin said in a written statement.
These 35 countries, unlike the US, have strict laws on the possession of firearms
In his statement Monday, the mayor said Arredondo was "duly elected" and that there is "nothing in the City Charter, the Election Code, or the Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office. To our knowledge, currently We are not aware of any investigation into Mr. Arredondo."
In his brief comments Wednesday, Arredondo said the oath was "a private thing" out of respect for families, noting that families are the center of attention right now.
CNN's Omar Jimenez and Andy Rose contributed to this report.
Shootings in the United StatesUvalde
