On Wednesday evening, a jury returned a verdict of not guilty in the case of a former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer, Adrian Gonzales, who was on trial on 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment resulting from the May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary shooting in that town.
A jury returned a not guilty verdict Wednesday evening in the trial of former Uvalde school police officer Adrian Gonzales, charged with 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment tied to the May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary shooting.
The jury deliberated for only seven hours before returning the verdict.
Gonzales faced charges tied to the early minutes of the Robb Elementary attack. Nineteen children and two adults died in the shooting, which is the deadliest in Texas history according to the Texas Tribune.
The Uvalde police force was roundly criticized for delays in entering Robb Elementary after the shooting started. After the verdict, Gonzales' legal team attributed the verdict, however, to a lack of evidence that Gonzales deliberately delayed entering the building.
Speaking to the press after the verdict was read, both Gonzales and his legal team shared details from their conversation with the jury.
Defense attorney Nico LaHood said the jury told them there were "a lot of gaps in the evidence."
"You can tell, they said there was gaps in the evidence," said LaHood. "They appreciated us bringing out those gaps. They considered everything. They were very diligent. They worked very hard back there. They were very mindful and deliberate."
"Obviously they were saddened because they know that the other families are mourning still. But they said there was a lot of gaps in the evidence, and some of that didn't make sense to them," LaHood added.
This event, like many similar events, has been used as a political prop by gun control advocates.
Almost as soon as the dust was clear in Uvalde, the police reaction was under intense scrutiny. On June 21, 2022, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McGraw claimed to the Texas state Senate that the response was an "abject failure." The Justice Department, in 2024, released a massive report on what went wrong in the response to the Robb Elementary shooting; you can view that report here.
The families of the Uvalde victims have already received a substantial settlement from the city of Uvalde:
Note that this was a civil settlement, not a criminal conviction.
If there are any further outcomes from this matter, rest assured, we'll bring them to you.
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