Uvalde defense witness suggests officer Gonzales couldn’t see gunman

(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — The Robb Elementary School gunman ducked behind a parked car when former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales initially drove by him, an eyewitness told jurors on Tuesday.

That move, defense lawyers allege, prevented Gonzales from being able to clearly spot the gunman when he first arrived at the school on May 24, 2022.

Claudia Rodriguez, a secretary at the funeral home that neighbored Robb, was the first witness called by the defense, and she told jurors that she witnessed gunman Salvador Ramos exit his car with a rifle after crashing into a ditch. 

Rodriguez said Ramos ducked behind a nearby parked car when Gonzales drove by him. 

“And at the time you see the white car [driven by Gonzales], you see the figure, kind of ducking down between the cars. Is that how you remember seeing it?” defense attorney Jason Goss asked. 

“Yes sir,” Rodriguez replied.

Rodriguez also testified that she tried to warn other arriving officers that the shooter entered the school, but they did not run in to stop him. 

“Gilbert [Limones, another funeral home employee,] and I are yelling at them upon their arrival and after they exited their car that he’s already inside,” she said.

“Did those officers then go immediately to where you told them and run inside the building?” Goss asked. 

“No. I believe, if I remember correctly, they got back into the car and went around the school towards the front of Robb,” she said. 

Prosecutors allege Gonzales, who is charged with child endangerment, did not follow his training and endangered the 19 students who died and an additional 10 surviving students.

Defense attorneys have sought to highlight that other officers arrived within the same timeframe as Gonzales but failed to act.

Gonzales has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers argue he is being unfairly blamed for a broader law enforcement failure that day.

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