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Jury Set to Deliberate in Trial of Ex-Uvalde School Officer After Closing Arguments

The case tests whether a first-arriving school officer can be criminally liable for not confronting an active shooter.

Overview

  • Adrian Gonzales faces 29 counts of abandoning or endangering a child tied to the 2022 Robb Elementary attack, with jurors expected to begin deliberations after Wednesday’s closings in Corpus Christi.
  • Prosecutors argued Gonzales arrived more than a minute before the gunman entered, was told the shooter’s location by aide Melodye Flores, heard gunfire, and failed to follow active-shooter training.
  • Defense attorneys said Gonzales could not clearly see the gunman as he arrived because the shooter ducked between cars, noted other officers had similar opportunities, and cited stress-induced perceptual limits.
  • The state called about three dozen witnesses and played Gonzales’ post-shooting interview in which he called his initial response a mistake, while the defense rested after two witnesses and emphasized his later actions inside the school.
  • Each count carries up to two years in state jail, and Gonzales elected to be sentenced by the judge if convicted; the trial unfolds against findings that police waited 77 minutes to end the attack and as ex–chief Pete Arredondo’s case remains pending.