Jury acquits former Uvalde school police officer over response to 2022 shooting

A Texas jury Wednesday night acquitted former police officer Adrian Gonzales of charges that he failed in his duties to confront the gunman in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Gonzales, a former Uvalde school police officer, was charged with 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment in the 2022 shooting that killed 21 people and became one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.

Jurors deliberated for more than seven hours before finding Gonzales not guilty, according to the Associated Press. He would have faced up to two years in prison if he had been convicted. 

Police have been heavily criticized for failing to respond to the shooting promptly, after law enforcement waited more than an hour to confront shooter Salvador Ramos.

Prosecutor Bill Turner, in his opening statement earlier this month, accused Gonzales of failing to distract, delay and impede the shooter while he waited for help to arrive.

Gonzales' attorney, Jason Goss, argued that his client did the best he could with the knowledge he had at the time, noting that the former officer was navigating an active shooter situation and attempting to assess who the gunman was and where the gunfire was coming from.

Former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo is also facing criminal charges over the police response, but his trial has not yet been scheduled. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.