CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) 鈥� A former Uvalde schools police officer was acquitted Wednesday of charges that he failed in his duties to confront the gunman during the critical first minutes of one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
Jurors deliberated for more than seven hours before finding , 52, not guilty in the first trial over to the 2022 attack, in which a teenage gunman killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers. Had he been convicted, he faced up two years in prison on more than two dozen charges of child abandonment and endangerment.
Gonzales appeared to fight back tears and hugged his lawyers after the verdict was read in a courtroom in Corpus Christi, hundreds of miles from Uvalde, where his legal team said a fair trial would not have been possible.
鈥淭hank you for the jury for considering all the evidence,鈥� Gonzales told reporters. Asked if he wanted to say anything to the families, he declined.
Several family members of the victims sat in silence in the courtroom, some crying or wiping away tears.
鈥淔aith is fractured, but you never lose faith,” said Jesse Rizo, whose 9-year-old niece Jackie Cazares was killed. He said he was frustrated by the verdict and hopes the state will press ahead with the trial of former Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who has been charged over the police response.
鈥淭hose children in the cemetery can鈥檛 speak for themselves,鈥� Rizo said.
Jurors declined to speak to reporters while leaving.
Arredondo鈥檚 trial has not yet been set. Paul Looney, his attorney, told The Associated Press that he believes the verdict will result in prosecutors dropping the case against his client.
鈥淭hese people have been vilified, and it鈥檚 horrible what鈥檚 been done to them. These guys didn鈥檛 do anything wrong,鈥� Looney said.
A rare trial ends in acquittal
The nearly three-week trial was an unusual case in the U.S. of an officer facing criminal charges on accusations of failing to stop a crime and protect lives.
The proceedings included emotional testimony from teachers who were shot and survived. Prosecutors argued that Gonzales abandoned his training and did nothing to stop or interrupt the teenage gunman before he entered the school.
鈥淲e鈥檙e expected to act differently when talking about a child that can鈥檛 defend themselves,鈥� special prosecutor Bill Turner said during closing arguments Wednesday. 鈥淚f you have a duty to act, you can鈥檛 stand by while a child is in imminent danger.鈥�
At least 370 law enforcement officers rushed to the school, where 77 minutes passed before a tactical team finally entered the classroom to confront and kill the gunman. Gonzales was one of just two officers indicted, angering some victim鈥檚 relatives who said they wanted more to be held accountable.
Gonzales was charged with 29 counts of child abandonment and endangerment 鈥� each count representing the 19 students who were killed and 10 others who were injured.
Jurors talked about 鈥榞aps鈥� in case, lawyer says
During the trial jurors heard a medical examiner describe the fatal wounds to the children, some of whom were shot more than a dozen times. Several parents told of sending their children to school for an awards ceremony and the panic that ensued as the attack unfolded.
Gonzales鈥� lawyers said he arrived upon a chaotic scene of rifle shots echoing on school grounds and never saw the gunman before the attacker went inside the school. They also insisted that three other officers who arrived seconds later had a better chance to stop the gunman.
鈥淗e was the lowest man on the totem pole. They thought he was easy pickings,鈥� Nico LaHood, one of Gonzales’ attorneys, said of prosecutors after the acquittal.
LaHood said he briefly polled jurors on their decision after the verdict.
鈥淭hey talked about gaps. They talked about perspective and what the government didn鈥檛 prove about Adrian,鈥� LaHood said.
Families made the long trip to attend trial
Some victims鈥� families made the long drive to watch Gonzales’ trial. Early on the sister of one of the teachers killed was removed from the courtroom after an angry outburst following one officer鈥檚 testimony.
Gonzales鈥� trial was tightly focused on his actions in the early moments of the attack, but prosecutors also presented the graphic and emotional testimony as the result of police failures.
State and federal reviews of the shooting cited in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned why officers waited so long.
Looney, Arredondo’s attorney, said he still wants his client to go trial so he can clear his name, saying, 鈥淧ete Arredondo deserves and needs a complete airing and public vindication. I hope he gets that chance.鈥�
Prosecutors faced a high bar to win a conviction. Juries are often reluctant to convict law enforcement officers for inaction, as seen after the . A sheriff鈥檚 deputy after being charged with failing to confront the shooter in that attack 鈥� the first such prosecution in the U.S. for an on-campus shooting.
___
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
