The trial of a former school police officer from Uvalde, Texas, who faces charges for allegedly failing to intervene during the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School, has been paused. This development follows a surprising alteration in testimony from a crucial witness.

Adrian Gonzales, the ex-officer, stands accused of 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment tied to the tragic event that claimed 21 lives. Prosecutors have stated that, if convicted, Gonzales could face up to two years in prison.

On Tuesday, Stephanie Hale, a former teacher, provided testimony indicating she spotted the shooter on the campus’s south side, which coincided with Gonzales’s position, as reported by Texas Public Radio.

The defense team contested this testimony, highlighting discrepancies with Hale’s earlier statements to a Texas Ranger during the 2022 investigation. In those statements, she reportedly placed the shooter in closer proximity to Gonzales than her recent account suggested, according to the outlet.

Images capture former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales departing the courtroom during a recess at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, January 6, 2026. (Eric Gay/AP)

The jury in the trial was then dismissed until Thursday as attorneys are preparing arguments on motions related to Hale’s testimony, the report said. The judge in the case is expected to hear those arguments on Wednesday, and the defense has raised the possibility of a mistrial, Texas Public Radio also reported. 

Gonzales, who was among the first to respond to the attack, arrived while the teenage assailant was still outside the building. The officer allegedly did not make a move, even when a teacher pointed out the direction of the shooter, special prosecutor Bill Turner said Tuesday during opening statements in the trial.  

Former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales, right, and his attorney Nico LaHood, left, arrive in the courtroom at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026.  (Eric Gay/AP)

The officer only went inside Robb Elementary minutes later “after the damage had been done,” Turner said. 

“When you hear gunshots, you go to the gunfire,” Turner added, noting that Gonzales, a 10-year veteran of the police force, had extensive active shooter training. 

Attorney Nico LaHood makes opening arguments during a trial for former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026.  (Eric Gay/AP)

An indictment accused Gonzales of putting children in “imminent danger” of injury or death by failing to engage, distract or delay the shooter and by not following his training. The allegations also said he did not go toward the gunfire despite hearing shots and being told the shooter’s location. 

Gonzales’ attorneys disputed accusations that he did nothing at what they called a chaotic scene, saying that he helped evacuate children as other police arrived.

Adrian Gonzales, a former police officer for schools in Uvalde, Texas. At right is a memorial dedicated to the 19 children and two adults killed on May 24, 2022, during a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. (Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office/AP/Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“The government makes it want to seem like he just sat there,” defense attorney Nico LaHood said on Tuesday. “He did what he could, with what he knew at the time.”