Uvalde Officer's Trial Begins on Child Endangerment Charges

In Corpus Christi, Texas, the trial of Adrian Gonzales, a former Uvalde school district police officer, began Monday with jury selection, marking the first criminal prosecution of a responder to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting for failing to confront the gunman during the deadly attack.

Gonzales, 52, faces 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment stemming from the May 24, 2022, incident, in which 18-year-old Salvador Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. The charges, filed in 2024, allege that Gonzales placed children in imminent danger by not engaging, distracting or delaying the shooter, despite hearing gunfire and receiving information on his location. Prosecutors claim he also failed to follow active shooter training that requires advancing toward the threat. Each count carries a potential sentence of up to two years in prison. Gonzales has pleaded not guilty.

The trial, expected to last two to three weeks, was moved about 200 miles southeast from Uvalde at the defense's request to ensure an impartial jury. Attorneys argued that widespread media coverage and community grief in the small town of...