Uvalde shooting trial: Former officer appears to wipe tears as witness describes wounds

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Former Uvalde CISD officer Adrian Gonzales is in court again Wednesday morning as witness testimony continues. 

Gonzales is charged with 29 counts of abandoning or endangering a child. Prosecutors say he didn't act quickly enough during the 2022 massacre, where 19 students and two teachers were killed. 

Testimony began at 9 a.m. Wednesday. 

Wednesday, Jan. 14 proceedings

The latest:

On Wednesday, the court heard from witnesses, including a former Uvalde schools employee who first told Gonzales to confront the gunman; a medical examiner who treated some victims at a nearby clinic; a parent of a shooting survivor; a counselor; and a man who trained Gonzales in active shooting response. 

Melodye Flores testified about the moments leading up to the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary. 

Flores, a teacher’s aide at the school, told the court she learned about the shooter over her school radio hearing the gunman had jumped a fence and was firing a weapon. Her first thought was to run outside to protect the children at recess.

"The announcement had been to you that there was a shooter?"

"Yes," said Flores.

"Wouldn't that pose a threat to you?" 

"Yes, but I wanted to make sure that the kids were safe," Flores said.

Flores testified she tried to shut the door but couldn't make it because the gunman was in that area. She told jurors she saw a white vehicle pull up.

She says she told Gonzales 2–3 times he needed to stop the gunman before he went into the 4th grade classroom, adding he was pacing back and forth.

"When you told the officer to go in did he go in?" 

"No" said Flores. 

"What did he do?" 

"He just stayed there, and I just ran," Flores said.

More than 70 minutes passed before a tactical team entered, killing the shooter.

The defense questioned Flores’ perception of the day. They pointed out that her description of the white vehicle did not match Gonzales. They have maintained the entire trial that Gonzales did the best he could with what he knew at the time.

"Are you aware now that there were no casings found over here?" 

"I didn't know that," said Flores.

Dr. Cherie Hauptmeier testified on Wednesday, as well. She joined 8 to 10 other doctors in treating around 15 patients. She described the medical injuries of each victim from the day. One of those injured was a 10-year-old 4th grader.

"She had bullet fragments in her forehead and in her left thigh," said Jamie Torres, mother of a 4th grade victim.

"Now those bullet fragments on her head, do they still exist today?"

"Yes," said Torres.

"What about the ones in her leg?"

"Yes," Torres said.

Her mother, Jamie Torres, also testified, telling jurors her daughter still suffers from ongoing headaches and pain when walking long distances.

Of note, Wednesday was the first day on which Gonzales appeared to become emotional during the trial. In previous days of proceedings, a stoic Gonzales rarely altered his facial expressions, remaining calm and even-tempered as witnesses delivered their testimonies. 

During the medical examiner's time at the witness stand, however, Gonzales appeared to wipe away tears as the expert recalled the wounds sustained by some of the children that day. 

The prosecution argues Gonzales ignored his active shooter training that day.

Retired Dallas police officer, Michael Witzgall, helped train Gonzales on active shooter response. He testified about the active shooter response, saying the main goal is to keep the gunman moving away from soft targets, which are places like schools, churches or hospitals.

"We gotta stop the killing. There's no other way to say that, folks. You can't wait for backup. I know there are curriculums out there that teach people to always wait for 2 or 3 more guys and, in my opinion and the way I train people, you don't have time to wait," said Witzgall.

The defense argued if Gonzales went in alone it would have put Gonzales and other officers at a higher risk of being killed.

What's next:

Trial proceedings are set to continue at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Trial for former Uvalde officer

The backstory:

So far in the trial, witness testimony has been heard from former teachers who sheltered in classrooms and district employees who were on the scene during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Forensic experts and federal agents have also weighed in on video from the shooting and evidence examined at the scene. 

Relatives of victims in the shooting have shared their stories as well. Tuesday, the sister of a victim made an emotional outburst in court, causing a disturbance in which she was escorted from the building. 

Nearly 400 officers responded to the school on May 24, 2022. More than 70 minutes passed before a tactical team entered, killing the shooter.

Read more:

• Jury selected for trial of Uvalde officer charged with child endangerment
• Uvalde school shooting trial closes for day; set to resume Thursday
• Uvalde school shooting trial: Judge denies mistrial motion after 'discrepancies' in teacher's testimony
• Uvalde shooting trial: Judge tosses teacher’s emotional testimony
• Uvalde shooting trial: Mother of victim testifies as prosecution of former police officer continues
• Surviving teacher testifies in 2nd week of Uvalde school shooting trial
• Uvalde School Shooting Trial: Judge threatens mistrial after courtroom outburst

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