UVALDE, Texas – Teresa Nira tries to come to Uvalde’s Town Square almost every day, but she said it’s still hard for her not to tear up.
“It’s just really, really difficult,” she said. “No matter how much we cry or care, it’s not going to bring the children back, and it’s the families who are feeling it the most.”
As Adrian Gonzales, a former Uvalde school district officer, was on trial the last two weeks, Nira said her community has been keeping a close eye. KSAT was there with her on Wednesday night as the not-guilty verdict was read.
“It’s still the same, and it’s pretty fresh,” Nira said. “The hurt is still so deep.”
She said she doesn’t see Gonzales’ verdict as an end to the heartbreak.
“It’s not the end,” Nira said. “It’ll never be the end, really, because there will always be some outcome we have to deal with.”
Nira said not everyone in Uvalde feels the same way she does.
“Some people I speak with just say move on, or it’s time to move on,” she said. “But, you know, I think maybe part of that is because it is so emotionally difficult.”
As Uvalde absorbs another chapter in the legal process, Nira said her community now carries the weight of this verdict together.
“I think that’s what the community is here for,” she said. “To try to live together as best we can and help one another.”
To read the full verdict timeline, click here.
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