Mayor delays swearing in of Uvalde School District Police Chief to City Council after school shooting

The mayor of Uvalde, Tex. has delayed the swearing in of a number of officials to the City Council, among them School District Police Chief Pedro Arredondo.

A city council meeting planned for this week in Uvalde, TX has been postponed out of respect for the children who lost their lives in the mass shooting at a local elementary school last Tuesday.

"Our focus on Tuesday is on our families who lost loved ones," Uvalde mayor Don McLaughlin said on Monday according to CNN. "We begin burying our children tomorrow, the innocent victims of last week's murders at Robb Elementary School. The special City Council meeting will not take place as scheduled."

Arredondo has been the subject of criticism following the shooting after it was revealed that he was the one who ordered authorities to stand back and not try to enter the classroom.

The school district police chief explained that he believed the perpetrator had "barricaded himself in" the room, and was not an active shooter.

This decision gave the shooter an hour before authorities finally stepped in, and when all was said and done, nineteen students and two teachers lost their lives.

Nevertheless, Arredondo is still being permitted to serve on the City Council, a position he was elected to three weeks ago.

"Pete Arredondo was duly elected to the City Council," Mayor McLaughlin said. "There is nothing in the City Charter, Election Code, or Texas Constitution that prohibits him from taking the oath of office."

"To our knowledge," he added, "we are currently not aware of any investigation of Mr. Arredondo."