Jury deliberating case of former Uvalde officer charged over response to 2022 school attack

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A jury began deliberating Wednesday in the trial of one of the first police officers on the scene of the Robb Elementary School attack in Uvalde, Texas, and prosecutors urged a conviction to send a message that law enforcement must fulfill their duty to protect when a gunman threatens children.

Adrian Gonzales, a former Uvalde schools officer, is the first officer to stand trial over the hesitant police response to the 2022 massacre, when a teenage gunman killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

The trial is a rare case of a police officer charged with failing to stop a criminal act to protect lives.

“This is a failure to act case," special prosecutor Bill Turner told jurors in closing statements.

Gonzales, he said, had a duty to act even if it meant entering the building alone to face the gunman.

“We’re expected to act differently when talking about a child that can’t defend themselves,” Turner said. “If you have a duty to act, you can’t stand by while a child is in imminent danger.”

Gonzales, 52, sat at the defense table during more than two hours of closing statements from prosecutors and defense lawyers. Behind him in the courtroom were family members of several of the victims. Some cried when the names of the children killed and wounded that day were read out loud.

As jurors, Turner said, their verdict will set the bar over whether "it’s appropriate to stand outside, hearing 100 shots, while children are being slaughtered.”

Gonzales' attorney, Jason Goss, opened his statement by telling jurors his client was not responsible for the attack.

"The monster that hurt those kids is dead," Goss said. "It is one of the worst things that ever happened.”

A conviction would tell police they have to be “perfect” when responding to a crisis and could make them even more hesitant in the future, Goss said.

Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment for the 19 students killed and 10 others who were wounded. Gonzales faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

Gonzales did not take the stand in his own defense. Prosecutors said he was the first officer on the scene.

Gonazles has insisted he didn’t freeze in the chaotic early moments and never saw the gunman, and his lawyers argue that three officers on the other side of the school saw the gunman still outside and didn’t fire a shot.

Body camera footage shows Gonzales being among the first group of officers to enter a shadowy and smoky hallway trying to reach the killer in a classroom.

Contrary to the portrayal of a reluctant officer officer, Gonzales risked his life when he went into a “hallway of death" where others were unwilling to go in the early moments, his lawyers said.

"They are trying to feed you a coward sandwich and telling you Adrian is the one who gave it to you,” defense attorney Nico LaHood told jurors.

Prosecutors called 36 witnesses over nine days in a trial that began Jan. 5. Gonzales’ attorneys presented just two witnesses, starting with a woman who worked across the street from the school and who told jurors she saw the shooter ducking between cars and trying to stay out of view — testimony that could reinforce Gonzales’ claims that he never saw the gunman.

Jurors heard emotional testimony from teachers who recounted the terrifying moments when the 18-year-old gunman entered the school. Prosecutors have presented graphic photos from inside the classrooms and questioned officers who described the chaos of the response.

The trial was moved hundreds of miles to Corpus Christi after defense attorneys argued Gonzales could not receive a fair trial in Uvalde. Still, some victims' families have made the long drive to watch the proceedings.

Early in the trial, the sister of one of the teachers killed that day was removed from the courtroom after an angry outburst following one officer's testimony.

Prosecutors allege Gonzales, who had led an active shooter response training course two months before the shooting, abandoned his training and did not try to stop gunman Salvador Ramos before he entered the school.

Teacher Arnulfo Reyes described seeing a “black shadow with a gun” enter the room before he was shot and all 11 of his students were killed. Other teachers described students, some as young as second grade, grabbing safety scissors to attack the gunman if he came into their room.

The teachers and children followed their school shooting training, Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell told jurors.

“We’re not going to continue to teach children to rehearse their own death and not hold (police) to the training that’s mandated by state law,” Mitchell said.

Gonzales was one of 376 federal, state and local officers swarmed to the school as the attack unfolded. It would take more than an hour for a tactical team to breach a classroom and kill the gunman.

Only Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo have been criminally charged for the delayed response. Arredondo was indicted on similar charges on the same day as Gonzales in 2024, but his trial has not yet been set.

Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.

Jesse Rizo and his wife Juanita Cazares-Rizo listen to the prosecution and defense deliver their closing statements to the jury on the 11th day of the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Corpus Christi, Texas. T (Sam Owens /The San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool)

Special prosecutor Bill Turner delivers a closing statement to the jury on the 11th day of the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Sam Owens /The San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Nico LaHood mimics a police officer responding to a threat inside a classroom while delivering a closing statement to the jury on the 11th day of the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Sam Owens /The San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool)

Former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales listens to closing statements on the 11th day of his trial at the Nueces County Courthouse on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Sam Owens /The San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool)

Police officers escort Velma Lisa Duran of the courtroom as she yells at witness Joe Vasquez, a Zavala County Sheriff's Office deputy, during a trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. Duran's sister Irma Garcia was one of two teachers who were killed in the Robb Elementary mass shooting. (Sam Owens/The San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool)

Javier Cazares listens to testimony during the 10th day of the trial of former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. Cazares is the father of Robb Elementary shooting victim Jackie Cazares, one of the 19 children killed by an 18-year-old gunman. (Sam Owens/The San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool)

Defense attorney Nico LaHood cross-examines the prosecution's witness Nick Hill, a Texas Ranger lieutenant with the Texas Department of Public Safety, during the 10th day of the trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales at Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Sam Owens/The San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool)

Former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales, left, talks to his defense attorney Nico LaHood during a break on the 10th day of his trial at Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Sam Owens/The San Antonio Express-News via AP, Pool)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Liverpool and Barcelona are leaving it late to secure automatic qualification to the Champions League round of 16.

With just two rounds remaining, the defending champions of England and Spain currently sit outside of the top eight spots that will advance automatically.

Teams placed from nine to 24 enter a two-legged playoff.

Liverpool topped the league phase last year but then faced the daunting task of playing eventual winner Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16. Arne Slot's team is going about it differently this time and may have to navigate a playoff to advance.

Liverpool is at Marseille on Wednesday and could be boosted by the return of Mohamed Salah from the Africa Cup of Nations. He was put straight back into Liverpool's starting lineup after he headed off to represent his country last month with doubts hanging over his future.

Salah was unhappy with his lack of game time and aired his views in an explosive interview. But manager Arne Slot immediately recalled him for the crunch trip to Marseille.

Barcelona was runner-up to Liverpool during the league phase last year and progressed to the semifinals before losing to Inter Milan.

Now it is playing catch up as it heads to Slavia Prague.

Chelsea's new coach Liam Rosenior takes charge of his first Champions League game with the club hosting Pafos.

Rosenior replaced Club World Cup-winning coach Enzo Maresca this month after leading Chelsea's sister club Strasbourg to the top of the third-tier Conference League standings.

Bayern Munich — one of this season's favorites — hosts Union Saint-Gilloise.

Tiny Qarabag is making a big impression in the competition and picked up its third win in the league phase after Bahlul Mustafazade scored deep into stoppage time on to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2.

The Azerbaijani team edged closer to securing a place in the playoffs with just one game remaining thanks to its late comeback, which also confirmed Frankfurt's elimination.

Camilo Duran had put the home team ahead in the fourth minute, but Frankfurt responded through Can Uzun and Fares Chaibi. Duran leveled the game in the 80th before Mustafazade's winner in the 94th.

A Marcos Llorente own goal denied Atletico Madrid victory as the Spanish team drew 1-1 at Galatasaray. Giuliano Simeone scored early for Atletico before Llorente's own goal in the 20th.

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Liverpool's Alexis Mac Allister leaves the pitch after the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Burnley in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Marcus Rashford in action during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Liverpool's manager Arne Slot enters to the pitch prior to the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Burnley in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Super)