Former Uvalde School Police Officer Acquitted on All Charges in Connection With His Response to 2022 Shooting

Former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officer Adrian Gonzales has been found not guilty on all charges tied to his actions during the May 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed.

Gonzales had faced 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment. According to NBC News, 19 of those counts were connected to children who died, while 10 related to children who survived. He pleaded not guilty.

The tragedy has remained a flashpoint for scrutiny of law enforcement response. Authorities waited more than an hour to confront the gunman, Salvador Ramos, who was not killed until about 77 minutes after officers first arrived.

Gonzales, along with former Uvalde Consolidated School District police chief Pete Arredondo, was among the first to respond to the school. The San Antonio Express-News reported that Gonzales had SWAT training and served as the instructor for active shooter training for the district’s police force.

A Justice Department report previously found that nearly 400 officers from state, local and federal agencies responded to the scene. The report cited “cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy, and training” that contributed to breakdowns in the response.

According to KSAT, child endangerment charges in Texas are state felonies, and Gonzales could have faced six months to two years in a state jail if convicted.

Before jurors began deliberations, Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell acknowledged the weight of the case, ABC News reported.

“I know this case is difficult, and it has been difficult. But we cannot continue to let children die in vain,” Mitchell said, according to the outlet.

She added, per ABC News: “What happened to Uvalde on May 24 can happen anywhere, at any time. If it’s going to happen, and if we have laws mandating what the responsibility of a law enforcement peace officer is for a school district, then we better be ready to back it up.”

A jury returned not-guilty verdicts on all counts on Wednesday, Jan. 21, after roughly seven hours, six minutes and 30 seconds of deliberations, according to KSAT. The outlet reported the trial lasted nearly three weeks, with prosecutors calling 36 witnesses and the defense calling two.

Arredondo has also pleaded not guilty and faces multiple counts of abandoning and endangering a child. According to ABC News, his case has been delayed indefinitely due to a federal lawsuit after the U.S. Border Patrol refused efforts by Uvalde prosecutors to interview Border Patrol agents who were part of the response.

After the verdict, Gonzales thanked supporters and his legal team, KSAT reported.

“First thing’s first: I want to start by thanking God for this — my family, my wife and these guys right here (the defense attorneys),” he told reporters, per the outlet. “He put them in my path, you know? And I’m just thankful for that. Thank you for the jury for considering all the evidence and making that verdict.”

Asked whether he had anything to say to the parents of the victims, Gonzales told reporters, “No. Not right now.”