Overview
- After roughly seven hours of deliberation, a Nueces County jury found the former Uvalde school police officer not guilty on 29 child abandonment or endangerment charges.
- Prosecutors argued Gonzales was among the first on scene, failed to engage the gunman despite being told his location by a teaching aide, and built their timeline from body-camera video, radio traffic and witness testimony.
- Defense lawyers said Gonzales followed his training under extreme stress, never saw the shooter before he entered the school, helped evacuate students, and later moved into a dangerous hallway as shots were fired.
- The case was moved to Corpus Christi to ensure an impartial jury and marked a rare attempt to criminally charge an officer for alleged inaction during a mass shooting.
- The acquittal leaves former schools police chief Pete Arredondo as the only officer still facing charges, while broader scrutiny continues over a response in which 19 students and two teachers were killed and a tactical breach came 77 minutes after arrival.