OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Cale Makar and Joel Kiviranta all scored in Colorado's first-period barrage and the Avalanche cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
Nelson finished with two goals — his first two since being acquired by Colorado from the New York Islanders — and Scott Wedgewood made 15 saves.
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Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) shoots against Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during first-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor (25) tries to screen Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg, right, on a shot during second-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven, left, collides with Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor, right, behind the net during second-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Colorado Avalanche center Ross Colton (20) collides with Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub, right, during first-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) makes a pad-save on a shot by Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle, right, during second-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ottawa Senators center Matthew Highmore, right, tries to tip the puck past Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood, left, during first-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates after a goal against the Ottawa Senators with teammates left wing Jonathan Drouin, center, and defenseman Cale Makar, le during first-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Wedgewood's shutout bid being ended by Dylan Cozens’ power-play goal with 4:41 left in the game.
The Avalanche chased Linus Ullmark from the game just 17:29 in after he allowed four goals on 13 shots.
It was the Senators’ second straight loss following a six-game winning streak.
Nelson scored his second of the night on the power play 1:54 into the middle frame after tipping Artturi Lehkonen's shot to beat Anton Forsberg, who allowed one goal on 19 shots in relief of Ullmark.
Senators: Cozens continues to shine since joining the Senators with points in six of his seven games (three goals, three assists).
Avalanche: Colorado had a slow first five minutes and then got going after MacKinnon’s opening goal.
Ullmark struggled on Nelson’s first goal, a moment that seemed to drain the Senators’ momentum and sap their energy.
Nine players in the NHL have 50-plus points and 100-plus hits. Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson are three of them.
Senators: Head to New Jersey to take on the Devils on Saturday.
Avalanche: Travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens on Saturday.
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Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) shoots against Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) during first-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor (25) tries to screen Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg, right, on a shot during second-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven, left, collides with Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor, right, behind the net during second-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Colorado Avalanche center Ross Colton (20) collides with Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub, right, during first-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) makes a pad-save on a shot by Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle, right, during second-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ottawa Senators center Matthew Highmore, right, tries to tip the puck past Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood, left, during first-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates after a goal against the Ottawa Senators with teammates left wing Jonathan Drouin, center, and defenseman Cale Makar, le during first-period NHL hockey game action, Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Ottawa, Ontario. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
HOUSTON (AP) — Former Uvalde, Texas, schools police Officer Adrian Gonzales was among the first officers to arrive at Robb Elementary after a gunman opened fire on students and teachers.
Prosecutors allege that instead of rushing in to confront the shooter, Gonzales failed to take action to protect students. Many families of the 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers who were killed believe that if Gonzales and the nearly 400 officers who responded had confronted the gunman sooner instead of waiting more than an hour, lives might have been saved.
More than 3½ years since the killings, the first criminal trial over the delayed law enforcement response to one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history is set to begin.
It’s a rare case in which a police officer could be convicted for allegedly failing to act to stop a crime and protect lives.
Here’s a look at the charges and the legal issues surrounding the trial.
Gonzales was charged with 29 counts of child endangerment for those killed and injured in the May 2022 shooting. The indictment alleges he placed children in “imminent danger” of injury or death by failing to engage, distract or delay the shooter and by not following his active shooter training. The indictment says he did not advance toward the gunfire despite hearing shots and being told where the shooter was located.
Each child endangerment count carries a potential sentence of up to two years in prison.
State and federal reviews of the shooting cited cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology and questioned why officers from multiple agencies waited so long before confronting and killing the gunman, Salvador Ramos.
Gonzales’ attorney, Nico LaHood, said his client is innocent and public anger over the shooting is being misdirected.
“He was focused on getting children out of that building,” LaHood, said. “He knows where his heart was and what he tried to do for those children.”
Jury selection in Gonzales’ trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 5 in Corpus Christi, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Uvalde. The trial was moved after defense attorneys argued Gonzales could not receive a fair trial in Uvalde.
Gonzales, 52, and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo are the only officers charged. Arredondo was charged with multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment. His trial has not been scheduled, and he is also seeking a change of venue.
Prosecutors have not explained why only Gonzales and Arredondo were charged. Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell did not respond to a request for comment.
It’s “extremely unusual” for an officer to stand trial for not taking an action, said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a University of Houston Law Center professor.
“At the end of the day, you’re talking about convicting someone for failing to act and that’s always a challenge,” Thompson said, “because you have to show that they failed to take reasonable steps.”
Phil Stinson, a criminal justice professor at Bowling Green State University who maintains a nationwide database of roughly 25,000 cases of police officers arrested since 2005, said a preliminary search found only two similar prosecutions.
One involved a Florida sheriff’s deputy, Scot Peterson, who was charged after the 2018 Parkland school massacre for allegedly failing to confront the shooter — the first such prosecution in the U.S. for an on-campus shooting. He was acquitted by a jury in 2023.
The other was the 2022 conviction of former Baltimore police officer Christopher Nguyen for failing to protect an assault victim. The Maryland Supreme Court overturned that conviction in July, ruling prosecutors had not shown Nguyen had a legal duty to protect the victim.
The justices in Maryland cited a prior U.S. Supreme Court decision on the public duty doctrine, which holds that government officials like police generally owe a duty to the public at large rather than to specific individuals unless a special relationship exists.
Michael Wynne, a Houston criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor not involved in the case, said securing a conviction will be difficult.
“This is clearly gross negligence. I think it’s going to be difficult to prove some type of criminal malintent,” Wynne said.
But Thompson, the law professor, said prosecutors may nonetheless be well positioned.
“You’re talking about little children who are being slaughtered and a very long delay by a lot of officers,” she said. “I just feel like this is a different situation because of the tremendous harm that was done to so many children.”
Associated Press writer Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed.
Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70
FILE - Flowers are placed around a welcome sign outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, May 25, 2022, to honor the victims killed in a shooting at the school. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Velma Lisa Duran, sister of Robb Elementary teacher Irma Garcia, cries as she reflects on the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, school shooting during an interview on Dec. 19, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)
Velma Lisa Duran, sister of Robb Elementary teacher Irma Garcia, poses with photos of her sister and brother-in-law, Joe Garcia, as she reflects on the 2022 Uvalde, Texas, school shooting on Dec. 19, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Kin Man Hui)
FILE - This booking image provided by the Uvalde County, Texas, Sheriff's Office shows Adrian Gonzales, a former police officer for schools in Uvalde, Texas. (Uvalde County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
FILE - Crosses with the names of shooting victims are placed outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, May 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
