Daijiworld Media Network - Texas
Texas, Jan 14: Jurors on Tuesday heard the first detailed account from former school district police officer Adrian Gonzales on his actions before the 2022 Uvalde school massacre, as prosecutors played a key interview he gave to investigators a day after the shooting.
The interview was presented during the testimony of Texas Ranger Ricardo Guajardo, who questioned Gonzales following the May 2022 attack at Robb Elementary School, where 19 children and two teachers were shot dead. The massacre remains among the deadliest school shootings in US history and has led to sweeping debates on school security and police response protocols.
The videotaped interview is a central piece of evidence in the ongoing trial, in which Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of endangering or abandoning a child. Prosecutors allege that Gonzales had prior information about the gunman’s movements before he entered the classroom building and failed to delay or distract him.
Recorded a little over 24 hours after the attack, the hour-long interview shows Gonzales describing how a school coach told him what the shooter was wearing and where he was headed. Toward the end of the interview, Gonzales acknowledged a lapse in judgement.
“Now that I can sit back, I went tunnel vision, like I said, with the lady that was running,” Gonzales said. “That was my mistake.”
Special prosecutor Bill Taylor has earlier argued that Gonzales had sufficient time and information to intervene before the gunman reached the classrooms. Defence lawyer Jason Goss countered that his client misspoke under the trauma of the incident, saying Gonzales was mistaken about the identity and intent of the person he focused on.
Ranger Guajardo, however, declined to speculate on Gonzales’ state of mind, pushing back against attempts to reinterpret the former officer’s words.
The courtroom witnessed emotionally charged scenes throughout the day. Testimony included accounts from wounded teachers and a father who rushed to the school to find his daughter and later joined the group that killed the shooter, saying “Nobody stopped me.”
Proceedings were briefly disrupted when Velma Duran, the sister of slain teacher Irma Garcia, shouted from the public gallery. Irma Garcia was killed while trying to protect her fourth-grade students.
“You know who went into the ‘fatal funnel’? My sister went into the ‘fatal funnel’,” Duran cried, accusing authorities of failing to act. The judge ordered the jury to disregard the outburst as she was escorted out.
While prosecutors are not seeking to convict Gonzales for actions taken during the 77-minute delay in neutralising the gunman, defence lawyers highlighted steps he took during that period, including calling for assistance, locating a school map and helping evacuate students from other areas.
The trial continues as the jury weighs whether Gonzales’ actions before the shooter entered the classrooms amounted to criminal negligence.