Prosecutors argued in opening statements on Tuesday that former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales was informed of gunman Salvador Ramos’ specific location before Ramos breached Robb Elementary School but chose not to intervene.
Gonzales, who faces 29 counts of child endangerment, is accused of abandoning his training and duties during the botched response to the 2022 massacre, which resulted in the deaths of two teachers and 19 children.
The trial represents only the second time in American history that prosecutors have attempted to hold a law enforcement officer criminally liable for their actions during a mass shooting. The defense team argues that Gonzales is being unfairly scapegoated.
Speaking quietly and appearing emotional, prosecutor Bill Turner began his opening arguments by revealing the state’s theory for the first time: a teacher physically encountered Ramos and attempted to alert Gonzales before the shooter entered the building.
“She’s face-to-face with the gunman, and he fires on her, and she turns to run, and when she turns to run, she trips and she falls. And when she gets up, Adrian Gonzales, the police officer, is there,” Turner told the court. “She says, ‘He’s over there.’ She urges him to go get him.”
“He gets on the radio and says, ‘Shots are fired, he’s wearing black, he’s in the parking lot,'” Turner continued. “He knows where he is, but Adrian Gonzales remains at the south side of the school.”
As Turner detailed the agonizing timeline for the jury—noting the volume of shots fired by Ramos while Gonzales allegedly remained outside—he emphasized the accusation that the officer held his position rather than attempting to neutralize the threat.
Defense attorney Nico LaHood acknowledged to the jury that “pure evil” descended upon Uvalde on May 24, 2022, but insisted that securing a conviction against Gonzales would not equate to justice.
LaHood contended that Gonzales performed to the best of his ability given the circumstances, taking steps to gather intelligence, evacuate students, and enter the school based on the limited information he possessed.
Partnering with attorney Jason Goss, LaHood presented a detailed opening argument utilizing maps and time stamps to provide the jury with a minute-by-minute breakdown of the officer’s movements.
“The government wants to make it seem like he just sat there, you know. He didn’t just sit there — he did what he could with what he knew at the time,” LaHood stated.
LaHood also criticized the prosecution’s intention to display autopsy photographs. While the judge has granted preliminary approval for their use, he retains the discretion to bar specific images from evidence.
“They’re going to really want you to focus on these photos, and I wish they wouldn’t — not because it hurts us — because .. it hurts those precious people over there,” LaHood said, gesturing toward family members and residents in the courtroom gallery.
Gilbert Limones, an employee at a funeral home located near the school, was the prosecution’s first witness, testifying about the panic he felt upon realizing a man was firing at the campus.
“I saw him walking towards the south end of the building and then started at every window and just randomly would just get the gun and shoot inside the windows,” Limones recounted.
During his testimony, prosecutors played recordings of Limones’ frantic call to emergency services.
“Oh my god, he is about to shoot them. He is shooting at the people. Oh, Jesus,” Limones was heard saying on the 911 tape.
Limones testified that he initially tried to help after witnessing a car crash, only for the driver to open fire on him. He described the gunman walking “very nonchalantly” toward the school moments before firing at children on the playground.
The witness stated he saw a white vehicle driven by Gonzales pass by Ramos, suggesting the officer missed an opportunity to stop the gunman.
“And then what happened?” asked a prosecutor.
“And then I just remember him going to the classrooms, and he started shooting window by window until he got to the door where he walked in through,” Limones testified.
Under cross-examination, Limones conceded that other responding officers also missed similar opportunities to intervene during the initial minutes of the attack.
“You saw on the video that at some point in time those three officers did not follow Adrian on the campus, they drove away?” LaHood asked.
“Correct,” Limones replied.
“And you saw in the video that they showed up not long after Adrian drove really fast towards the school?” the attorney followed up.
“Correct,” said Limones.
Although nearly 400 officers eventually responded to the scene, it took 77 minutes for law enforcement to breach the classroom and kill Ramos. Gonzales is charged alongside former school police chief Pete Arredondo as one of only two officers facing legal consequences.
On Monday, Judge Sid Harle seated a full jury following an emotionally charged selection process. Many potential jurors expressed anger over the police response, and more than 100 recused themselves, citing an inability to be impartial.
“They were only protecting themselves more than they were protecting the children,” one excused juror told the court, drawing applause from others. “I would have sacrificed myself to save them, but they didn’t. They just sat there.”
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty, with his lawyers arguing he is taking the fall for a systemic failure. During jury selection, several individuals questioned why more officers have not been indicted in the years since the tragedy.
“Are you saying this man is the whole problem? You are sticking it on his shoulders alone?” a dismissed juror remarked. “How many of them were out there? They should all be sitting there with him.”
Gonzales was charged last year along with Arredondo, the on-site commander. Arredondo’s trial has been postponed indefinitely due to a pending civil suit involving elite Border Patrol agents who refused to speak with prosecutors about their role that day.
The prosecution of Gonzales is a rarity within the U.S. legal system.
In 2023, a Florida jury acquitted Scot Peterson, a former deputy charged with child neglect for his inaction during the 2018 Parkland high school shooting. His defense successfully argued that his role did not amount to a “caregiver” status and that the response was complicated by communication failures.
Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, suggests that prosecutors in the Gonzales trial will likely encounter the same legal hurdles that led to Peterson’s acquittal.
“What you’re really trying to do,” Jarvis said, “is argue … that being a coward is a crime, and that is very, very difficult.”