CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Jurors on Wednesday night found a former Uvalde CISD police officer not guilty of child endangerment in his response to the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Adrian Gonzales, 52, was acquitted on 29 child endangerment charges. Each charge represented the same number of children who were killed and injured in the shooting on May 24, 2022.
Watch the reading of Gonzales’ verdict in the below video player.
Gonzales spoke publicly for the first time since his not guilty verdict Wednesday evening.
“First thing’s first: I want to start by thanking God for this — my family, my wife and these guys right here (the defense attorneys)," Gonzales told reporters through tears. “He put them in my path, you know? And I’m just thankful for that. Thank you for the jury for considering all the evidence and making that verdict.”
Gonzales was then asked if he had anything to say to victims’ families.
“No. Not right now,” Gonzales said.
Nico LaHood, Gonzales’ lead defense attorney, described his team’s strategy throughout the weekslong trial.
“We had a strategy going into voir dire to opening statements to when we were going to present evidence and how we felt we were going to use the government’s witnesses to bring out points and then wrap it up in closing (statement),” LaHood told reporters.
After the state and defense rested their cases Tuesday, closing arguments in Gonzales’ trial began Wednesday morning. Closing arguments ended just after noon.
Jurors took approximately seven hours, six minutes and 30 seconds to reach their not guilty verdict.
Watch KSAT’s full Wednesday night coverage of Gonzales’ not guilty verdict in the below video player.
Background
Gonzales was one of two now-former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officers charged with child endangerment regarding the law enforcement response to the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.
An 18-year-old gunman killed two teachers at the school on May 24, 2022.
The other officer, former UCISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo, has yet to go to trial in his child endangerment case. Arredondo is facing 10 child endangerment charges.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell prosecuted the Gonzales case, but she appointed Bill Turner as special prosecutor. Turner was the former district attorney in Brazos County.
San Antonio-area attorney and former Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood led Gonzales’ defense team. The team was rounded out by fellow attorneys Jason Goss and Gary Hillier.
In August 2025, Gonzales requested a venue change for the trial.
In the motion, Gonzales’ defense team argued that he cannot receive a fair trial by a jury in Uvalde County due to the impact the massacre had on members of the community.
“This horrific tragedy touched every member of the Uvalde community,” LaHood said at the time. “It would be impossible to gather a jury that would not view the evidence through their own pain and grief.”
In October 2025, LaHood confirmed to KSAT that the trial venue was changed from Uvalde County to Nueces County.
Witnesses included law enforcement officers, former educators at Robb Elementary, and shooting victims and their families.
Community resources
- The Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas is taking appointments for Uvalde community members aged 4-24 who need someone to talk to. Counselors can be reached at 830-333-9833. They say they have staff available to speak with kids and youth. The center is located at 319 N. Getty St.
- The Uvalde Together Resiliency Center is open for walk-in support for people impacted by the trial. The center is open from 10 a.m. -6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call 830-900-7349. The center is located at 2104 E. Main St.
More coverage of the Adrian Gonzales trial on KSAT: