Prosecutor: Uvalde Cop Didn't Act Until Too Late

A school police officer in Uvalde, Texas, stood by during one of the deadliest school shootings in US history and made no attempt to distract or stop the gunman before he opened fire inside the classrooms, a prosecutor told a jury Tuesday. Adrian Gonzales, who was among the first to respond to the attack in 2022, arrived while the teenage assailant was still outside the building and did not make a move, even when a teacher pointed out the direction of the shooter, special prosecutor Bill Turner said during opening statements of a criminal trial, per the AP.

The officer only went inside Robb Elementary minutes later, "after the damage had been done," Turner said. Prosecutors focused sharply on Gonzales' steps in the minutes after the shooting began and as the first officers arrived. They did not address the hundreds of other local, state, and federal officers who arrived and waited more than an hour to confront the gunman. Gonzales has pleaded not guilty in the case, which is a rare example of charges being brought against an officer who is accused of not doing more to save lives. His attorneys disputed accusations that he did nothing at what they called a chaotic scene, saying that Gonzales helped evacuate children as other police arrived.

"The government makes it want to seem like he just sat there," said defense attorney Nico LaHood. "He did what he could, with what he knew at the time." Gonzales, who is no longer a Uvalde schools officer, faces 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment and could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison if convicted. "He could have stopped him, but he didn't want to be the target," said Velma Lisa Duran, sister of teacher Irma Garcia, who was among the 19 students and two teachers who were killed .

But defense attorneys described an officer who tried to assess where the gunman was while thinking he was being fired on without protection against a high-powered rifle. Gonzales was among the first group to go into the building before they took fire from Ramos, the officer's attorneys said. "This isn't a man waiting around. This isn't a man failing to act," defense attorney Jason Goss said.