In Texas, the Uvalde school district has fired police chief Pete Arrendondo over his response to the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, which left 19 fourth graders and two teachers dead. Arredondo is the first law enforcement official to lose their job over the bungled response to the massacre. Video from the scene shows police under Arredondo’s command waited one hour and 17 minutes before they finally entered the classroom to confront the teenage gunman. In total, 376 law enforcement officers responded to the attack in Uvalde. The school board’s decision to fire Arredondo came exactly three months after the mass shooting. It followed angry public calls for his ouster. This is 10-year-old Caitlyne Gonzales, a Robb Elementary School fourth grader who lost two of her best friends in the shooting.

Caitlyne Gonzales: “If a law enforcement’s job is to protect and serve, why didn’t they protect and serve my friends and teachers on May 24th? I have messages for Pete Arredondo and all the law enforcement that were there that day: Turn in your badge and step down! You don’t deserve to wear one!”

Pete Arredondo skipped Wednesday’s meeting, saying he feared for his physical safety. In a statement, Arredondo called his firing an “unconstitutional public lynching” and demanded he be immediately reinstated with full back pay and benefits.