UVALDE, Texas — On Saturday morning, Michele Prouty and her partner ran into H-E-B to pick up several copies of the Uvalde Leader-News.
The paper's Sunday edition, which hit news stands on Saturday, reported the Uvalde CISD police chief resigned from his seat on Uvalde's city council.
Arredondo's resignation comes amid questions of his response to the Robb Elementary School shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
Prouty recalled giving one to Brett Cross, the uncle of Uziyah Garcia. The 10-year-old was a victim of the mass shooting on May 24.
“I haven’t seen that man smile like he did today," said Prouty.
Cross began protesting against Pete Arredondo last month in Uvalde's town square. Prouty and others joined along in support of his family's efforts to raise awareness on their desire to see Arredondo removed from city council.
During their weekend protests, chants are typically heard. Today, it was cheers.
"My reaction was pure joy. It's about time. It's what we have been asking for weeks now," she said.
Arredondo first told the local paper of his resignation saying in part, 'The mayor, the city council, and the city staff must continue to move forward without distractions. I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde.'
The City of Uvalde first denied receiving a resignation letter or any other documentation of his resignation. They added in a press release that no one had spoken to him.
Hours later the City confirmed they did receive his resignation letter. They did not comment further on the matter.
Arredondo's time on city council was short. He was first privately sworn in just days after the mass shooting in May. At one point, he did request a leave of absence from all future meetings but was denied by council members.
Now that his resignation is official, the City said in an earlier statement the City Charter outlines what happens next.
Section 10 states: 'Vacancies in the office of council members shall be filled by the majority vote of the qualified electors of the affected single member district at a special election for the remainder of the unexpired term, as provided by ordinance.'
Prouty said Arredondo's resignation from council is only the start of the change they hope to see in the community.
"Now, he just needs to resign from the school," she said.