SAN ANTONIO – The first of two former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police officers will go before a Uvalde County jury for the first time this week in his child endangerment trial.
Adrian Gonzales, 52, was charged with child endangerment in connection with his response to the May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed in the shooting.
WATCH BELOW: Jury selection to begin for former Uvalde CISD officer charged in Robb school shooting response
The other officer charged with child endangerment, 53-year-old Pete Arredondo, was UCISD’s police chief. Arredondo’s trial date is not yet known.
Before Gonzales walks into the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, here’s what we know about him.
Gonzales’ connections to Uvalde
According to the Uvalde Leader-News, Gonzales has considerable ties to Uvalde.
He graduated from Uvalde High School in 1991. Gonzales also previously worked as an officer for the Uvalde Police Department and taught with the Uvalde Head Start program.
Under Arredondo’s leadership, Gonzales joined the district police department in August 2021.
How records describe Gonzales’ response to Robb
In September 2025, KSAT received a trove of records — including texts and emails — from UCISD and the City of Uvalde before, on the day of and after the shooting at Robb Elementary School.
Included in those records is a text message Arredondo sent to Gonzales more than two hours before they responded to the school on May 24, 2022.
At 9:04 a.m., Arredondo told Gonzales to “go hang out at the park with the seniors until 11:30 (a.m.).”
According to a state House report released on July 17, 2022, Gonzales and Arredondo were two of the first four officers to enter the school just after 11:30 a.m. on the day of the shooting.
The other two officers, Sgt. Daniel Coronado and Donald Page, were with the Uvalde Police Department.
Role in active shooter training months before the shooting
Records show UCISD police hosted active shooting training for school-based law enforcement on March 21, 2022, which KSAT previously reported.
The course took place at Uvalde High School. Gonzales served as one of the officers who taught the course.
Instruction included lectures, role-play, practical applications and force-on-force scenarios, according to records with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE).
One of the courses was titled, “Stop the Killing - Solo Response to Active Shooter Events.” Another course focused on the priorities of action for school-based law enforcement.
One of the scenarios involved a person walking into a school with a high-powered rifle.
Gonzales’ time with UCISD police ends
On Oct. 7, 2022 — the same day former UCISD Superintendent Hal Harrell announced his retirement — the district said it was suspending its police department, which included Gonzales.
Gonzales did not stay on with the district’s police department much longer. In February 2023, the Uvalde Leader-News reported Gonzales was no longer a member of the department.
According to the outlet, his last day with UCISD police was Jan. 1, 2023. However, it is unclear why he left.
Charges he faces
Gonzales and Arredondo were indicted in Uvalde County on child endangerment charges in connection with their response to the shooting.
Gonzales, who was also booked into jail before he was released, is facing 29 child endangerment charges in all: 19 of them for the children killed in the shooting and 10 more charges for the 10 children who survived.
Gonzales is accused of not using his training and not confronting the shooter, even after he allegedly heard gunshots from a nearby hallway. Gonzales is being represented by San Antonio-area attorney Nico LaHood.
WATCH BELOW: Defense team for former Uvalde CISD officer says team is ready to contest charges in upcoming trial
Court appearances in Uvalde County
Gonzales attended his pre-trial arraignment inside a Uvalde County courtroom in July 2024. While he was in court for a few moments, Gonzales pleaded not guilty to his 29 child endangerment charges.
After court appearances in September 2024 and December 2024, Gonzales’ trial date was tentatively set for October 2025.
Venue change request
In August 2025, Gonzales officially filed a motion for a venue change away from Uvalde County for his trial.
In the motion, Gonzales’ defense team argued that he would not be able to receive a fair trial by a Uvalde County jury due to the impact the massacre had on members of the community.
“This horrific tragedy touched every member of the Uvalde community,” LaHood said. “It would be impossible to gather a jury that would not view the evidence through their own pain and grief.”
Weeks later, in September 2025, Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell said she was not opposed to Gonzales’ request for a change in venue.
“Given the recent release of information, documentation and evidence to the media, the State does not object to the defendant’s motion to change venue,” Mitchell wrote in the records obtained by KSAT.
Trial setting shifts to Nueces County
On Oct. 7, 2025, LaHood confirmed to KSAT that his client’s trial will be held at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi in 2026.
Judge Sid Harle told ABC News that Gonzales’ trial will begin on Jan. 5, 2026.
KSAT 12 News will livestream Gonzales’ trial on KSAT.com, KSAT Plus and KSAT’s YouTube channel as a part of its Open Court coverage.
More recent coverage of this story on KSAT: