Uvalde school police chief placed on administrative leave as investigation continues

Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo was placed on administrative leave Wednesday, amid an investigation into law enforcement response to the mass shooting.

"From the beginning of this horrible event, I shared that the district would wait until the investigation was complete before making personnel decisions," Uvalde Superintendent Hal Harrell wrote in a press release that the Associated Press obtained.

An investigation is ongoing into the law enforcement response to the elementary school shooting that left 21 dead, including 19 children. 

At a state Senate hearing earlier this week, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw testified that officers could have stopped the gunman three minutes into the massacre, which ended up lasting for more than an hour. 

McCraw slammed Arredondo for deciding "to place the lives of officers before the lives of children" by telling law enforcement to not neutralize the shooter, the AP reported.

"Today, I am still without details of the investigations being conducted by various agencies. Because of the lack of clarity that remains and the unknown timing of when I will receive the results of the investigations, I have made the decision to place Chief Arredondo on administrative leave effective on this date," Harrell said on Wednesday, adding that "Lieutenant Mike Hernandez will assume the duties of the UCISD Chief of Police."