Former Uvalde Officer Acquitted in Robb Elementary Shooting Response Trial

A Texas jury has acquitted former Uvalde school police officer Adrian Gonzales of all charges related to his response during the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 19 children and two teachers. The verdict was delivered after more than seven hours of deliberation.

Gonzales, 52, faced 29 counts of child abandonment and endangerment, corresponding to each of the 19 students who were killed and 10 who were injured. Prosecutors argued that Gonzales failed to act promptly to stop or delay the shooter, while the defense contended that he did not see the gunman and acted reasonably given the information available at the time.

The trial, held in Corpus Christi due to concerns about impartiality in Uvalde, featured emotional testimony from survivors and victims' families. The acquittal marks the first trial outcome related to the law enforcement response to the shooting, during which nearly 400 officers waited over an hour to confront the gunman.

Following the verdict, Gonzales expressed gratitude to his attorneys and the jury, stating, "Thank you to the jury for considering all the evidence and reaching that verdict."

Victims' family members expressed disappointment with the outcome. Jesse Rizo, uncle of one of the victims, questioned the message the verdict sends to law enforcement, asking, "If you're an officer, you can stand by, stand down, and do nothing while people are executed, killed, slaughtered, massacred. Is that the message you sent today?"

Former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo, who has been described as the incident commander during the response, is awaiting a separate trial on charges connected to the shooting.