Uvalde, Texas

The Uvalde officer who lead the city’s police department when the elementary school shooting took place and left 19 children and two teachers dead has stepped down, a city spokeswoman said on Thursday. It isn't clear if Lt. Mariano Pargas retired or resigned, according to city spokeswoman Gina Eisenberg.

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The police response to the school shooting was extremely delayed and one officer had already lost his job over the May massacre. Hundreds of officers waited over an hour before confronting the gunman inside a classroom at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde city of Texas. 

Also Read | Uvalde school district suspends full police department months after shooting

Pargas was running the department at the time since the chief, Daniel Rodriguez, was not in the city. A report by the lawmakers forced Pargas to go on administrative leave in July. Recently, a new audio clip revealed that Pargas was told about children being in a classroom with the gunman half an hour before officers breached the room.

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The recordings published by CNN, show that Pargas was told about eight-nine children being in the classroom where the shooter was hiding. He can be heard acknowledging the situation, but despite that, a tactical team took 30 minutes to respond.

School district police chief, Pete Arredondo, has also come under heavy fire for the response to the shooting, with state officials saying he made "terrible decisions" and could have confronted the gunman sooner. Arredondo was fired in August but maintains that he didn't think he was in charge and thought someone else was in control of the situation. 

Families of the victims and some lawmakers want Col. Steve McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, to be fired. Body camera footage, a legislative investigation and media reports suggest that the state police had a bigger role at the scene than what it has admitted.

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(With inputs from agencies)