TIGHTLIPPED

Embattled Uvalde School Chief Insists He’s Not Dodging Investigators

“I am in contact with DPS everyday,” Pedro “Pete” Arredondo told CNN.

The Uvalde school police chief who’s been under scrutiny for the delayed police response to last week’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School has broken his silence amid reports he has not been cooperating with investigators. Pedro “Pete” Arredondo briefly spoke to CNN on Wednesday, telling the news outlet, “I am in contact with [the Department of Public Safety] every day.” His comments came after state police suggested a day earlier that he had “yet to respond” to a request for a follow-up interview with Texas Rangers probing the police response to the massacre. It took officers more than an hour to storm the school and confront the gunman, and by that time 19 children and two teachers were dead. Law enforcement officials said the delay stemmed from the incident commander on the scene, Arredondo, treating the shooting as a “barricaded subject” rather than an “active shooter.” Approached by CNN, he declined to comment on those claims, promising only to provide comment on his handling of the shooting at a later time. “We’re going to be respectful to the family. We’re going to do that eventually. Whenever this is done and the families quit grieving, then we’ll do that obviously,” he said.