Exclusive: Uvalde school police chief told investigators why he didn't try to stop gunman: 'There's probably going to be some deceased in there, but we don't need any more from out here' - CNN

Uvalde, Texas CNN  — 

Uvalde schoolhouse constabulary main Pedro “Pete” Arredondo told investigators helium was much acrophobic astir redeeming students successful different classrooms than trying to halt a gunman who had already changeable children and teachers.

An interrogation with investigators the time aft the May 2022 massacre astatine Robb Elementary shows Arredondo talking bluntly astir his recollection of events. CNN obtained a video signaling of the antecedently unreported interview, wherever immoderate of Arredondo’s answers struggle with his constricted nationalist statements.

It was the lone gathering astir his relation that helium had with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). He stopped cooperating with the DPS enquiry aft its manager labeled him arsenic incidental commandant and blamed him for decisions that near dead, dying and traumatized children with a gunman for implicit an hr portion officers waited successful the hallway outside.

The captious infinitesimal successful his determination making, Arredondo said, was erstwhile helium saw children successful different classrooms.

“Once I realized that was going on, my archetypal thought is that we request to vacate. We person him contained – and I cognize this is horrible and I cognize it’s [what] our grooming tells america to bash but – we person him contained, there’s astir apt going to beryllium immoderate deceased successful there, but we don’t request immoderate much from retired here,” Arredondo said.

His determination to dainty the gunman arsenic a barricaded taxable and not face him efficaciously near each the students and teachers successful Classrooms 111 and 112 for dead. It was 1 of galore times helium did not travel the grooming and protocol for an progressive shooter.

Arredondo stuck with that prime for implicit an hour, adjacent erstwhile helium thought helium heard the gunman reloading and aft it was confirmed children were trapped – injured and live arsenic good arsenic dormant – with the shooter.

CNN tried to scope Arredondo for this story. His lawyer George Hyde said helium was not authorized to respond to media requests. “I person informed him of your petition and it volition beryllium up to him from there,” Hyde wrote successful an email.

Arredondo has not contacted CNN. A erstwhile telephone fig for him has been disconnected.

CNN has besides informed the families of the victims astir this reporting connected Arredondo’s interview. Relatives person complained repeatedly that the lone mode they person been getting accusation is done CNN’s work.

Arredondo, main of the tiny constabulary unit for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, was 1 of the archetypal officers to scope Robb Elementary, minutes aft a gunman went done an unlocked doorway into the gathering past May 24.

He told investigators helium heard shots being fired arsenic helium ran to the schoolhouse and saw slug casings inactive rolling connected the level arsenic helium entered. He described a hallway afloat of fume from gunfire and saw Lt. Javier Martinez of the Uvalde Police Department retreat aft helium was changeable astatine done a schoolroom door.

Arredondo, who had dropped his schoolhouse and constabulary radios erstwhile helium got retired of his car, called 911 to springiness them an update. The telephone was recorded astatine 11:40 a.m., 7 minutes aft the shooter walked into the school. CNN has obtained the afloat audio of the call, which was antecedently work retired by DPS manager Col. Steven McCraw.

“It’s an exigency close now,” Arredondo told the dispatcher. “I’m wrong the gathering with this man. He has an AR-15. He changeable a full clump of times … He’s successful 1 room. I request a batch of firepower, I request this gathering surrounded, surrounded with arsenic galore AR-15s arsenic possible.”

Arredondo confirmed to investigators that helium lone had his handgun and wanted rifles. That is 1 of the galore times Arredondo’s decisions spell against progressive shooter grooming and protocols.

Records supplied to CNN by DPS amusement Arredondo took required progressive shooter grooming astatine slightest 3 times, including successful the December earlier the massacre. The circumstantial people helium took past instructs officers to “isolate, distract and neutralize” the attacker. It reminds officers “First responders to the progressive shooter country volition usually beryllium required to spot themselves successful harm’s mode and show uncommon acts of courageousness to prevention the innocent.”

Even arsenic Arredondo was calling for battle rifles, it is present known that there were officers with agelong guns astatine Robb by 11:40 a.m., astatine the different extremity of the hallway. Without a radio, Arredondo’s interaction with the different radical of officers was by phone, calling a workfellow from different unit helium knew well, helium said.

Arredondo besides said helium ignored his telephone erstwhile “everybody successful the world” started calling. He gave the 911 relation circumstantial instructions, according to the recording. “Call maine erstwhile SWAT is acceptable up. I’m going to person you connected vibrate though, truthful telephone maine doubly if you person to,” helium said.

Arredondo, who was fired arsenic schoolhouse constabulary chief successful August, has said that helium ne'er considered himself to beryllium the incidental commander. He declined to talk to CNN aggregate times successful the days aft the massacre, including extracurricular his bureau connected June 1 aft helium had been blamed arsenic the serviceman successful complaint whose catastrophically incorrect assessments caused the failed response.

In his lone extended nationalist comments since then, he told The Texas Tribune: “I didn’t contented immoderate orders … I called for assistance and asked for an extraction instrumentality to unfastened the door.”

Arredondo’s interrogation with investigators little than 24 hours aft the calamity and footage from surveillance and assemblage cameras show helium gave plentifulness of direction.

He described getting officers into a “pyramid” formation, each connected the aforesaid broadside of the hallway, to debar crossfire if the gunman came retired of the door.

And erstwhile helium tried the grip of the doorway to different schoolroom and recovered it unlocked with students and a teacher inside, helium made the captious determination to prevention others first.

“We’re going to wide retired this gathering earlier we bash immoderate breach,” Arredondo told officers successful the hallway astatine astir 12:08 p.m., arsenic heard connected assemblage camera footage. “As soon arsenic they wide this room, I’m going to verify what’s been vacated, guys, earlier we bash immoderate benignant of breaching.”

He went on: “Time’s connected our broadside close now. I cognize we astir apt person kids successful there, but we’ve got to prevention the lives of the different ones.”

Again, progressive shooter grooming for instrumentality enforcement states the opposite. Since the 1999 Columbine schoolhouse shooting erstwhile section constabulary waited extracurricular for SWAT teams, the accent has been connected speed – for immoderate serviceman to spell astatine erstwhile to the dependable of gunfire and halt the shooter.

Nineteen children and 2 teachers were killed successful the Uvalde massacre, and much injured. At slightest 3 of the dormant – 2 children and 1 teacher – were inactive live passim the 77-minute siege. Other students and teacher Arnulfo Reyes were injured and waiting for help. One of them, 4th grader Mayah Zamora, needed much than 20 surgeries and spent 2 months successful infirmary aft she was rescued.

In the hallway, assemblage camera footage shows that Arredondo called for maestro keys, but astatine slightest initially the volition was to unfastened up the adjacent classrooms and get radical further into safety, not to spell to wherever the gunman was.

“Are we getting the maestro key?” helium asked successful a telephone call, his broadside of which was captured connected assemblage camera. “I request to verify that this westbound helping is wholly vacant.”

Arredondo continued with that program adjacent arsenic constabulary radios blared astatine astir 12:12 p.m. with quality that a kid was calling from a “room afloat of victims.” It did not alteration aft a volley of shots from the schoolroom astatine 12:21 p.m. He tried to speech with the shooter, successful different contravention of progressive shooter policy. The gunman ne'er responded. Instead, Arredondo told investigators: “I’m definite I heard him reload.”

Throughout the response, Arredondo said helium did not cognize that Classrooms 111 and 112 had an interior connecting door. He told investigators helium believed the hallway doorway was locked but helium ne'er tried to unfastened it.

The doors and locks were a absorption of his interrogation with officers from the DPS and FBI. He told them helium regularly recovered schoolroom doors unlocked erstwhile helium did his rounds, and so helium opened astatine slightest 1 different doorway to assistance to evacuate students that day. But still, helium thought helium would not beryllium capable to get wrong the rooms wherever the shooter was.

“I cognize that I wasn’t going to beryllium capable to drawback that door. That’s my thought,” helium said. Yet successful June, helium told The Texas Tribune helium and a constabulary serviceman tried the doors to 111 and 112 and some were recovered to beryllium locked. There is nary grounds that that happened. McCraw testified to a Texas Senate proceeding successful June that nary 1 touched the doors earlier the classrooms were stormed and helium did not judge that they were ever locked.

When helium saw men helium assumed were Border Patrol officers get astatine the different extremity of the hallway, Arredondo said helium believed they were determination to unit introduction to wherever the gunman was holed up.

“I did fto them cognize we’re taking these kids retired first. We request to sphere the beingness of everybody astir him first,” helium told investigators.

The main said helium requested a sniper and told officers extracurricular to marque definite the shooter did not flight done the roof. But helium did not cognize what was happening distant from wherever helium was.

“We’re close successful there, I wasn’t alert of what was going connected outside,” helium said.

Outside was leaderless chaos.

Exclusive CNN reporting has shown:

Arredondo was ne'er asked astir who had bid of the effect during his astir one-hour interrogation with investigators. That became a cardinal contented successful the changing communicative from authorities officials arsenic the communicative morphed from a heroic instrumentality enforcement effect lauded by Gov. Greg Abbott the time after, to an “abject failure,” arsenic labeled by DPS manager McCraw successful June.

“The lone happening stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering Room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commandant who decided to spot the lives of officers earlier the lives of children,” McCraw testified earlier a peculiar Texas Senate committee.

In the interview, the investigators were respectful and knowing to Arredondo, who was loquacious and sometimes jovial successful return, saying however helium was readying to rib a workfellow who had not managed to tally past him successful the archetypal attack to the classrooms.

“We’re going to get scrutinized, I’m expecting that. We’re getting scrutinized for wherefore we didn’t spell successful there,” Arredondo said, earlier giving his reasoning again.

“I cognize what the firepower [the shooter] had, based connected what shells I saw, the holes successful the partition successful the country adjacent to his. I besides cognize I had students that were astir determination that weren’t successful the contiguous menace too the ones I cognize were successful the contiguous menace and the preservation of beingness around, everything astir him, I felt was priority,” helium explained. “Because I cognize there’s astir apt victims successful determination and with the shots I heard, I cognize there’s astir apt idiosyncratic who’s going to beryllium deceased. I cognize these weren’t,” helium said of the radical successful the classrooms without the gunman.

Asked what proposal helium would springiness to the adjacent section to person to woody with a schoolhouse shooter, helium identified 3 captious areas, each of which are present known to person had flaws successful Uvalde.

“Never minimize your training, ne'er minimize your equipment, and ne'er minimize your communication.”