A former school district police officer was acquitted Wednesday of all charges tied to the 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School.
Adrian Gonzales Not Guilty
After roughly seven hours of deliberations, the jury unanimously found Adrian Gonzales not guilty on 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment, bringing an end to a two-week trial that scrutinized his actions during the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. Gonzales was among the first officers to respond and one of only two law enforcement officials criminally charged over the failed response.
The charges stemmed from the deaths of 19 children and the endangerment of 10 others who survived. Gonzales had pleaded not guilty to every count.
As the verdict was read in court Wednesday night, Gonzales—dressed in a blue suit and seated between his attorneys—looked down and remained silent before embracing his lawyers, visibly emotional. Several victims’ family members were present in the courtroom; some sat quietly, while others wept as the decision was announced.
Outside the courtroom, Jesse Rizo, whose nine-year-old niece Jacklyn Cazares was killed in the attack, said the verdict sent a troubling signal.
“Now the message is clear,” Rizo told reporters. “You’re an officer, you don’t have to do anything. You can stand back and wait. No one takes accountability.”
Families Angered by Adrian Gonzales Acquittal
Prosecutors argued that Gonzales failed to act despite clear warning signs. They alleged he waited roughly three minutes outside Robb Elementary School before entering the campus, during which time the gunman fired more than 100 rounds. According to the state, Gonzales did not attempt to engage, distract, or slow the shooter—even though he was aware of ongoing gunfire and had been informed of the suspect’s general location.
Special prosecutor Bill Turner told jurors that approximately 77 minutes passed between the arrival of law enforcement and the moment a tactical team finally entered a classroom and killed the shooter.
“If you have a duty to act, you can’t stand by while a child is in imminent danger,” Turner said during closing arguments. “If you have a duty to protect the child, you can’t allow it to happen.”
Turner also pointed to testimony from teachers who, despite the chaos, took steps to shield students.
“In that stress, teachers put their kids first,” he said. “Kids tried to protect each other. They comforted teachers. Kids came first.”
Defense attorneys countered that the case was driven by grief and anger rather than evidence. Lead defense attorney Jason Goss acknowledged Gonzales had a duty to act but maintained his client never encountered the shooter and did not know exactly where he was located at the time.
“The monster who hurt those kids is dead,” Goss told the jury. “That monster is dead.”
Defense Argued Officer was Among the First Responders to Reach “Hallway of Death”
Goss argued that Gonzales attempted to help after the shooter entered the building and was among the first responders to reach what witnesses described as a “hallway of death,” where gunfire echoed repeatedly from an AR-15-style rifle. According to the defense, prosecutors were trying to assign blame to someone who survived because the actual perpetrator could not be put on trial.
“The power of the state has decided he has to pay for the failures of that day,” Goss said, “for the mistakes and for all the pain.”
At one point, the defense sought a mistrial after a teacher unexpectedly testified that she saw the gunman in an area where Gonzales had been positioned—contradicting her earlier statement during a legislative review. Judge Sid Harle instructed jurors to disregard that testimony.
376 Officers Responded to the Shooting
A Texas House interim report later found that 376 local, state, and federal officers responded to the shooting. The report noted that Gonzales helped evacuate students and called for a SWAT response, although the head of the Uvalde police SWAT team was already inside the school.
Due to intense media coverage and local outrage, Gonzales’ trial was moved to Corpus Christi, roughly 200 miles from Uvalde, after his attorneys raised concerns about whether he could receive a fair trial in Uvalde County.
The only remaining criminal case tied to the law enforcement response involves Pete Arredondo, the former Uvalde schools police chief. His trial on 10 counts of child abandonment or endangerment has not yet been scheduled.
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