Uvalde officer cleared of failing in his duty to confront gunman who murdered 19 children in school shooting
Adrian Gonzales, 52, was acquitted on 29 child endangerment charges
Former Uvalde school police officer Adrian Gonzales has been cleared of failing in his duty to confront a gunman who murdered 19 children in the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary in Texas.
Gonzales, 52, was acquitted on 29 child endangerment charges Wednesday evening after a nearly three-week trial.
On May 24, 2022, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire on the elementary school, killing nearly 20 children and two teachers. Gonzales’ charges represent the kids who were killed and the 10 others who were injured.
It took over an hour before police finally entered the classroom Ramos was in to kill him and put an end to the carnage.
“Thank you for the jury for considering all the evidence,” Gonzales told reporters after the verdict.
Gonzales’ legal team said he never saw the gunman before Ramos entered the school and that other officers had a better chance at stopping him, the Associated Press reports.
The defense lawyers also argued that Gonzales and other officers tried to reach the classroom that Ramos was in, but were driven back by gunfire, and he also helped evacuate children from other classrooms amid the chaotic shooting.
Special Prosecutor Bill Turner argued that Gonzales “failed to act after being aware that shots were fired, being told the general location of the gunman, having time to respond,” per news outlet WSBT.
Some family members of the shooting victims were crying or wiping away tears after the verdict, it was reported.
“Faith is fractured, but you never lose faith,” Jesse Rizo, who lost his nine-year-old niece Jackie Cazares in the shooting, told reporters. “You don’t lose faith because these children that are no longer with us — that are at the cemetery — they can’t speak for themselves. We speak for them. We fight ‘til the end.”
Tensions were high during the trial as evidence of the horrific shooting was detailed in court.
After Zavala County Sheriff’s deputy Joe Vasquez took the stand, in which he described finding a “pile of the bodies,” the sister of one of the teachers who was killed in the attack started yelling in the courtroom gallery, local outlet KSAT reported.
Velma Duran said her sister Irma Garcia “went into the fatal funnel.” The fatal funnel is a law enforcement term for open spaces where officers are vulnerable, making it hard to engage with a shooter. Duran was escorted out of court for the outburst.
Ramos began firing shots into classrooms at around 11:30 a.m. local time on the day of the shooting. Before the first few police officers entered the school, Ramos had already fired more than 100 rounds, according to a timeline from CNN.
The gunman continued to fire shots as officers moved through the school. Throughout the shooting, some adults and children managed to escape with the help of law enforcement.
At around 12:50 p.m., authorities confronted Ramos, who came out of a classroom supply closet and opened fire. A breach team fatally shot the gunman.
Gonzales had faced up to two years in prison if he had been convicted.
Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo is also facing child endangerment charges related to the shooting, to which he pleaded not guilty. Out of the at least 370 officers who responded to Robb Elementary, only Gonzales and Arredondo were charged. Arrendondo’s trial date has yet to be scheduled.
Arredondo’s attorney, Paul Looney, told the AP he thinks prosecutors will drop his client's charges because of Gonzales’ verdict.
“These people have been vilified, and it’s horrible what’s been done to them,” Looney said. “These guys didn’t do anything wrong.”
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks