Jurors heard for the first time from Adrian Gonzales, the former Uvalde school officer criminally charged for not doing more to stop the shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers.
Prosecutors played a 68-minute video statement Gonzales gave to Texas Rangers the day after the May 2022 Robb Elementary attack, hoping jurors would weigh his own words about his actions that day.
At a Glance
- Gonzales described arriving to see a gym teacher fall and get back up
- He told investigators he experienced “tunnel vision” amid the chaos
- A deputy testified he would have entered the classroom even with only a handgun
- Why it matters: The testimony shapes whether jurors believe officers acted reasonably-or criminally failed the victims
In the video Gonzales recalled a teacher pointing toward the shooter: “When I get out and I approach her, she’s like ‘he’s over there, he’s in black by the teacher parking’. So, when I look, I start hearing rounds going off. I don’t know where they’re coming from, but I know they’re getting muffled; they’re behind the building.”
Near the end of the statement he told Texas Ranger Rick Gallardo he had tunnel vision.
“Now that I can sit back, I went tunnel vision,” Gonzales said. “Like I said, with the lady that was running, they said they were running to the school, that’s where I saw, I locked in on her. That was my mistake, but it was just the adrenaline rush going and shots fired, and stuff like that.”
Teachers also described the terror inside their classrooms while waiting for officers to intervene.
Fourth-grade teacher Elsa Avila testified she heard a female voice screaming for everyone to get into their classrooms. She realized she had been shot and tried to stay calm and quiet so her students would follow suit.
Her classroom sat a few doors down from where the shooter killed 19 students and two teachers. Police eventually entered through exterior windows and rescued the students inside.
“I was very proud of them (my students),” Avila said. “They followed their training. they stayed down, they stayed quiet, they took care of each other, they tried to take care of me.”
Deputy Joe Vazquez, off duty on May 24, 2022, rushed to Uvalde from neighboring Zavala County after hearing about the shooting. He moved toward where parents and others said the shooter was located and took position in a hallway with a few other officers.
“At some point, I ask them if they want to make entry and they [replied] no,” Vazquez testified. “They say something about a negotiator and a shield. He [another officer] explains that they got fired at as they made, as they approached the door.”
Vazquez was part of the initial group that breached Classroom 111 and shot and killed the shooter. He then left to find his daughter, a second-grade student at Robb at the time, to ensure she was safe.
Under questioning from prosecutor Bill Turner, Vazquez told the jury he would have acted differently had he been the first officer on scene.
“I would fire even if I had a handgun and he had a rifle,” Vazquez said. “The preference is you want to get close enough that you don’t miss, but you use what you have.”
Key Takeaways
- Gonzales’ own words captured on video form a central piece of the prosecution’s case
- Teacher testimony underscores the prolonged wait for rescue that day
- A fellow officer’s willingness to enter with limited gear could contrast with Gonzales’ actions
