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Former Police Officer Who Failed to Confront Uvalde Gunman Found Not Guilty
A jury in Corpus Christi found Adrian Gonzales not guilty of 29 counts of endangering the children who were left trapped with a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Texas.
Memorials honoring the victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvlade, Texas.Credit...Christopher Lee for The New York Times
Jan. 21, 2026, 8:57 p.m. ET
More than three years after a gunman massacred 21 people at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, a former school police officer was found not guilty of abandoning and endangering children.
Adrian Gonzales, the first officer to arrive at the school, was facing 29 counts of abandon…
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Former Police Officer Who Failed to Confront Uvalde Gunman Found Not Guilty
A jury in Corpus Christi found Adrian Gonzales not guilty of 29 counts of endangering the children who were left trapped with a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Texas.
Memorials honoring the victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvlade, Texas.Credit...Christopher Lee for The New York Times
Jan. 21, 2026, 8:57 p.m. ET
More than three years after a gunman massacred 21 people at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, a former school police officer was found not guilty of abandoning and endangering children.
Adrian Gonzales, the first officer to arrive at the school, was facing 29 counts of abandoning and endangering children — 19 for the dead, 10 more for survivors — after seven hours of deliberations Wednesday. The verdict delivered a devastating blow to families of the victims and survivors who have clamored for accountability for the much derided delayed police response on May 24, 2022.
During the three-week trial, prosecutors argued that Mr. Gonzales failed to stop the gunman despite a witness alerting him to his whereabouts moments before the assailant stormed two connected classrooms.
Defense attorneys convinced the jury that Mr. Gonzales did the best he could with the information he had and that at least three other officers arrived seconds later and also failed to stop the gunman. They also presented evidence that Mr. Gonzales rushed into the building minutes after arriving, but retreated with the other officers after shooting begun.
Some of the families members cried and shook their heads in disappointment sitting in the courtroom after the verdict was read, but did not otherwise react. Mr. Gonzales hugged defense attorneys after he learned of his fate and wiped tears from his eyes.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Edgar Sandoval covers Texas for The Times, with a focus on the Latino community and the border with Mexico. He is based in San Antonio.
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