Jan. 21 (UPI) — A Texas jury on Wednesday found former school police officer Adrian Gonzales not guilty of felony charges accusing him of endangering children during the 2022 mass shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School that killed 19 students and two teachers.
Following seven hours of deliberations that capped off a two-week trial, the jury returned to the courtroom in Corpus Cristi, Texas, Wednesday evening, when presiding Judge Sid Harle read their unanimous verdict that Gonzales was found not guilty on all charges.
Gonzales, 52, was facing 29 felony charges, one for each of the 19 fourth-grade students killed and 10 students wounded in the May 24, 2022, shooting.
Wearing a blue suit, Gonzales received the verdict while standing between two members of his defense counsel, one of whom placed a hand on the right shoulder of Gonzales, who bowed his head upon receiving the judge’s words.
On the morning of May 24, 2022, 18-year-old Salvador Rolando Ramos entered his former Robb Elementary school with an AR-15-style rifle and opened fire.
Ramos was in the school for 77 minuets before the nearly 400 officers who responded engaged Ramos, who was shot dead at the scene.
The prosecution during the trial argued that Gonzales failed to protect the students, while his defense successfully countered that he did what he could.
