Trial begins for ex-officer accused of slow response to Uvalde school shooting

The trial of a former school police officer accused of not doing enough to protect children during the Uvalde school shooting began in Texas on Tuesday

The trial of a former school police officer accused of not doing enough to protect children during the Uvalde school shooting began in Texas on Tuesday.

Adrian Gonzales, one of the first officers to respond to the 2022 shooting, faces 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment. Officers responding to the shooting were found to have waited more than an hour to confront the shooter, who killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School.

Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officer Adrian Gonzales arrives at the courthouse in Uvalde, Texas, on July 25, 2024. Eric Gay / AP fileMembers of the public and reporters flocked to the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi on Tuesday morning for the trial. Judge Sid Harle is presiding over the high-profile trial.

In his opening statement, Prosecutor Bill Turner accused Gonzales of failing to distract, delay and impede the shooter while he waited for help to arrive.