Lt. Mariano Pargas, the acting police chief on the day of the Robb Elementary School massacre, has resigned from the Uvalde Police Department, Mayor Don McLaughlin said Thursday afternoon.   

  Parga’s resignation comes ahead of a rare Saturday “special meeting” called by the city to decide his fate.  His resignation is effective immediately, according to McLaughlin.   

  Pargas, 65, was expected to be terminated at Saturday’s scheduled meeting, if he had not been terminated by then.   

  He was placed on administrative leave by McLaughlin in July after footage from his body-worn cameras raised questions about whether he had taken any action to take over.  A recent CNN report indicated that Pargas knew the students were alive and in need of rescue during the shooting, but failed to organize help.   

  When CNN reached Parga by phone Monday for comment, he said he was unable to talk about anything related to the police department on the advice of his lawyers.   

  A preliminary report by the Texas House investigative committee in July blasted several law enforcement agencies for their lack of action that day, describing an “overall callous approach” by authorities.   

  “There is no one to whom we can attribute malice or evil motives,” the report said.  “Instead, we found systemic failures and egregiously poor decision-making.”   

  Angry relatives of some of the children killed in the May 24 shooting have called on Parga to step down from his role as Uvalde County commissioner.   

  “He was made aware that people were being injured and died and yet he did nothing.  A young lady called 911 in room 112 asking for help and he just let her and other people die,” Jesse Rizzo said, citing an exclusive CNN report from this week, at a Uvalde County Commission meeting where families lined up for to criticize Parga.   

  Rizzo, whose 9-year-old niece Jackie Cazares was killed along with 18 other children and two of their teachers, continued: “You’ve brought shame to the community, you’ve brought shame to law enforcement, you’ve tarnished the brand.”   

  Rizzo was addressing an empty chair, as Pargas did not appear at the meeting.   

  Pargas was re-elected to the commission earlier this month, defeating three write-in candidates, including Jackie Cazares’ father, Javier Cazares.