DALLAS—The Uvalde officer who was leading the city’s police department during the hesitant law enforcement response to an elementary school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers has stepped down, a city spokeswoman said.
Lt. Mariano Pargas retired on Thursday afternoon after 18 years working for the city, according to spokeswoman Gina Eisenberg. She said his retirement was immediate but the city is still processing the paperwork.
Pargas is the second police leader to leave law enforcement in the fallout since the shooting in May, when hundreds of officers waited more than an hour to confront the gunman inside a classroom at Robb Elementary School. His retirement comes ahead of a Saturday meeting at which the city council was set to consider firing him….