> At a Glance
> – Jury selection started Monday for Adrian Gonzales, ex-Uvalde school officer
> – He faces 29 counts of child abandonment/endangerment tied to the May 24, 2022 Robb Elementary response
> – Conviction carries up to 2 years in prison; trial set for roughly two weeks in Corpus Christi
> – Why it matters: First criminal case scrutinizing the 77-minute wait to stop the shooter who killed 19 students and 2 teachers
Nearly four years after Texas’ deadliest school shooting, the first criminal trial over law enforcement’s delayed response began Monday with jury selection for Adrian Gonzales, a former Uvalde school police officer who stood among the first to arrive at Robb Elementary.
Charges and Courtroom
State prosecutors charged Gonzales with 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment-one for each child left inside the classroom while officers waited more than an hour to confront the teenage gunman. He has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys successfully moved the trial 200 miles southeast to Corpus Christi after arguing an impartial jury would be impossible in Uvalde.
If convicted, Gonzales faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
What Happened That Day
A Justice Department review found:
- The shooter was not stopped until 77 minutes after the first officers arrived
- Nearly 400 officers from local, state, and federal agencies responded
- The report cited “cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy, and training”
Co-Defendant Still to Come
Former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo, also among the initial responders, will stand trial next on multiple counts of abandoning and endangering a child. Arredondo was placed on administrative leave a month after the massacre and later fired; he too has pleaded not guilty.
Both men were indicted in June 2024, two years after the shooting.
Jury Selection Focus
Judge Sid Harle told several hundred potential jurors the court was not seeking people unaware of the tragedy but rather those who can remain impartial. According to the Associated Press, prospective jurors answered questions about:
- Their prior knowledge of the law-enforcement response
- Whether they had donated money to Uvalde victims
Key Takeaways
- First officer to face trial over the hesitant police response
- 29 separate counts tied to children in the classroom
- Trial expected to last about two weeks
The proceedings mark a milestone in the legal reckoning over the botched response to the massacre that claimed 21 lives inside the elementary school.
