CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — More than three years after a gunman massacred 21 people at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary in one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, a former school police officer was found not guilty of abandoning and endangering children.

Adrian Gonzales, the first officer to arrive at the school, was facing 29 counts of abandoning and endangering children — 19 for the dead, 10 more for survivors — after seven hours of deliberations Wednesday. The verdict delivered a devastating blow to families of the victims and survivors who have clamored for accountability for the much derided delayed police response May 24, 2022.

During the three-week trial, prosecutors argued that Gonzales failed to stop the gunman despite a witness alerting him to his whereabouts moments before the assailant stormed two connected classrooms.

Defense attorneys convinced the jury that Gonzales did the best he could with the information he had and that at least three other officers arrived seconds later and also failed to stop the gunman. They also presented evidence that Gonzales rushed into the building minutes after arriving but retreated with the other officers after shooting begun.

Some of the families members cried and shook their heads in disappointment sitting in the courtroom after the verdict was read, but did not otherwise react. Gonzales hugged defense attorneys after he learned of his fate and wiped tears from his eyes.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Edgar Sandoval/Christopher Lee
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