In a significant legal proceeding related to the tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a former member of the school district police force has been acquitted of serious criminal charges. Adrian Gonzales, 52, faced 29 felony counts of child endangerment linked to his actions during the 2022 shooting that resulted in the deaths of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde.
The prosecution accused Gonzales of failing to intervene promptly once he arrived on the scene, thereby not stopping the gunman in the critical earliest minutes of the shooting. The gunman, an 18-year-old former student at the school, was eventually neutralized by other law enforcement officers, but not before inflicting one of the deadliest mass school shootings in U.S. history.
The case was notably rare, as it involved charges against a law enforcement officer for allegedly neglecting to prevent a violent crime and failing to save lives. The jury from Corpus Christi, after approximately seven hours of deliberation, returned a verdict of not guilty on all charges. Each count carried potential prison sentences of up to two years.
During the trial, the prosecution urged the jury to consider the gravity of standing aside during a crisis, with Special Prosecutor Bill Turner asserting, "You can’t stand by and allow it to happen." In contrast, defense attorney Jason Goss argued that the legal action unjustly targeted Gonzales as a figure to bear the collective anguish following the incident, describing the prosecution’s case as a means to make him "pay for the pain of that day."
The verdict closes a contentious chapter in the aftermath of the 2022 Uvalde school shooting but leaves ongoing questions and impacts for public safety, law enforcement accountability, and community healing.