Jury selected for trial of Uvalde officer charged with child endangerment
Trial for Uvalde officer set to begin
Jury selection is expected to start Monday morning for the trial of former Uvalde school police officer Adrian Gonzales. He was one of the first officers on scene of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A jury has been seated in the trial of former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officer Adrian Gonzales, one of the first officers on the scene of the Robb Elementary mass shooting.
What we know:
Jury selection and the trial are taking place in Corpus Christi.
Gonzales faces 29 felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child, and has pleaded not guilty.
The charges are classified as state jail felonies, the lowest level of felony under Texas law.
If convicted, Gonzales could face between six months and two years in prison.
Gonzales is the first police officer in Texas to be prosecuted under a statute for allegedly failing to take action during an active shooter situation.
Lawyers for Gonzales successfully argued for a change of venue, so a judge moved the proceedings to a Nueces County court in Corpus Christi, more than 200 miles away.
A pool of 450 potential jurors were called up, far more than the 65 or so in a similar felony case.
What's next:
Pete Arredondo (Courtesy: Uvalde County Sheriff's Office)
Former Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo also faces 10 counts of abandoning or endangering a child, each of which carries a punishment of up to two years in jail. He is awaiting trial.
The trial for Gonzales is expected to reveal additional details about the actions of Gonzales and whether prosecutors can prove that his decisions crossed the line from failure into criminal conduct.
According to a Nueces County Court administrator, 12 jurors have been selected, along with four alternates. The pre-trial hearings are set to begin at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 6, as opening statements for the trial are set to begin at 9:30 a.m.
There is limited seating in the courtroom, but families of the victims are expected at the proceedings.
The backstory:
19 students and two teachers were killed in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022.
- Xavier Javier Lopez, 10
- Amerie Jo Garza, 10
- Uziyah Garcia, 8
- Rojelio Torres, 10
- Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10
- Nevaeh Bravo, 10
- Makenna Lee Elrod, 10
- Eliahana 'Elijah Cruz' Torres, 10
- Eliana 'Ellie' Garcia, 9
- Alithia Ramirez, 10
- Jacklyn "Jackie" Cazares, 9
- Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10
- Jailah Nicole Silguero, 11
- Jose Flores Jr, 10
- Alexandria "Lexi" Aniyah Rubio, 10
- Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10
- Tess "Tessy" Marie Mata, 10
- Maranda Gail Mathis, 11
- Layla Salazar, 10
Fourth-grade co-teachers 48-year-old Irma Garcia and 44-year-old Eva Mireles were also killed. Family members said at the time both died trying to protect their students.
Uvalde documents, 911 calls released
After more than two years, documents, audio and video recordings and 911 calls connected to the May 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, have been released. FOX's C.B. Cotton has more.
Uvalde Department of Justice Report
In 2024, the Department of Justice released a nearly 600-page report detailing the ‘cascading failures’ by law enforcement on May 24, 2022.
Nearly 400 law enforcement officials responded to the campus, but waited for 77 minutes before entering the classroom and confronting the 18-year-old shooter.
The police response included nearly 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents and 91 state police officials, as well as school and city police. While dozens of officers stood in the hallway trying to figure out what to do, students inside the classroom called 911 on cellphones, begging for help, and desperate parents who had gathered outside the building pleaded with officers to go in. A tactical team eventually entered the classroom and killed the shooter.
The report talked about the vast array of problems from failed communication and leadership, to the inadequate training and technology used by police.
A private investigator hired by the city cleared Uvalde city police of missteps.
Austin-based investigator Jesse Prado presented his findings in March 2024.
Prado stated the department did not commit any wrongdoing or violate any policy.
Dig deeper:
Uvalde City Council approves $2M settlement
Uvalde City Council unanimously approved a settlement with families of the Robb Elementary School shooting victims.
Uvalde reaches settlement with families
In April 2025, Uvalde City Council unanimously approved a settlement with families affected by the Robb Elementary School shooting.
The passage came 11 months after the families announced they agreed to a $2 million settlement with the city.
Attorneys representing the 19 families of the victims said at the time they were accepting the city insurance payment because the families did not want to hurt the financial status of the city they live in.
As a part of the agreement, city leaders promised higher standards and "enhanced training" for current and future police. The city will also build a memorial to the victims and offer resources to support mental health.
The city will also pay for the upkeep of the children's graves.
The Uvalde Strong Act
A bill called the "Uvalde Strong Act" was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in June 2025.
Texas House Rep. Don McLaughlin, who was mayor of Uvalde at the time of the attack and has been actively seeking change to law enforcement policy since, says the bill would correct problems with training that led to police hesitancy in the shooting.
The bill would require officers and school officials to meet annually for active shooter response plan development. It also increases officer training specifically for school shooter responses at primary and secondary school campuses.
The law went into effect on Sept. 1, 2025.
The Source: Information from Jessica Rivera and previous reporting from FOX 4 and FOX 7. Additional information in this article was provided by the Nueces County Court in Corpus Christi.