Uvalde shooting trial: Mother of victim testifies as prosecution of former police officer continues

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The third day of testimony at the trial of former Uvalde CISD officer Adrian Gonzales, who is accused of abandoning the children killed in the 2022 elementary school massacre, began Friday morning.

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. 

Uvalde shooting trial day 3

Friday's proceedings:

A specific witness to open the day was not announced at the end of Thursday's proceedings, but the state was still calling their witnesses to the stand. 

Testimony supporting the prosecution's case continued throughout the day, including from a former Texas Ranger who reviewed the crime scene and the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner for Bexar County. 

During the presentation of evidence, some photos were presented which the judge warned the audience were "gruesome" and "shocking."

"When we got there, the room was in disarray, there were some markings on the room, there were a lot of shell casings, there was a lot of blood, a lot of blood swipes the weapon was in the closet," said Juan Torres, a crime scene expert.

At the end of the day, the mother of one shooting victim, 9-year-old Eliana Garcia, gave her recollection of the day of the shooting. Jennifer Garcia said Eliana had asked to come home early that day, but Jennifer told her to stay to participate in an end-of-year pizza party with her class. 

"We just had to wait for any updates. I mean we waited there for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I want to say we were the second or third to last parents that day at about 9/10ish to find out that one of our children was the deceased," said Jennifer Garcia, a Robb Elementary parent.

Eliana would have turned 10 on June 4, just a week after the shooting. 

Prosecutors presented new evidence including dozens of photos throughout the school documenting the damage left behind. The images showed areas of the school struck by gunfire. Classrooms walls, windows with shattered glass and doorways with bullet fragments. Photos also showed students' school work and belongings left.

Texas Ranger and trajectory analyst Kevin Wright testified that many of the bullets traveled from the outside of the building, into classrooms and to adjoining rooms.

"In this one we can tell that the directionality of the bullet traveling through this window frame was coming from outside to inside, so if you could kind of imagine this is the side facing the classroom, so this would be the backside facing the exterior facing the outside of the building, and you can see the directionality of the bullet coming in you can see how it bent the metal as it comes through," said Wright.

The state argued the images show the intensity of the attack and says Gonzales ignored his active shooter training and failed to act.

The defense says Gonzales is not responsible for the bullet destruction in the classroom and previously said he radioed for help and helped evacuate students.

The deputy chief medical examiner with Bexar County also testified, describing the autopsies in graphic detail, saying one child was shot over 10 times.

What's next:

The trial is expected to last 2 weeks.

The day ended just before 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, and is set to return at 9 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12.

Trial for former Uvalde officer

The backstory:

The trial was moved to Corpus Christi after defense attorneys argued that Gonzales could not receive a fair trial in Uvalde, the small community still reeling from the tragedy. A pool of 450 potential jurors was narrowed down to a final panel of 12.

Prosecutors allege that Gonzales ignored his active shooter training and failed to act as a teenage gunman killed 19 students and two teachers. 

While the gunman remained inside a pair of interconnected classrooms, a swarm of nearly 400 officers from various agencies waited more than 70 minutes before a tactical team finally breached the room and killed 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

Click here for the Uvalde, Texas School Shooting article backlog