His Own Words: The State's Gamble on Adrian Gonzales' Interview

Today the jury in Texas v. Adrian Gonzales watched something they'll never be able to unsee: the defendant explaining himself, in his own words, recorded the day after 19 children and 2 teachers were slaughtered at Robb Elementary School.

Texas Ranger Ricardo Wardo took the stand and the state played the complete interview. Every gesture. Every explanation. Every moment where Adrian Gonzales described what he saw, what he heard, and what he did on May 24, 2022.

Here's what makes this testimony so critical: when that interview was recorded, Adrian Gonzales wasn't a suspect. He was a witness. Just another officer describing his response to a mass casualty event. He had no reason to craft his words carefully, no lawyer whispering in his ear, no understanding that years later these words would be played in a courtroom where he sat as a defendant facing 29 counts of child endangerment.

What Adrian Told the Ranger

In the interview, Gonzales describes hearing the radio call about a man with a gun running toward Robb Elementary. He was at a nearby park with high school seniors. He got in his car and drove toward the school at high speed.

When he arrived, he saw a woman running in an orange or peach shirt. The radio said someone was running toward the school with a gun. He didn't know if she was the threat. He drove directly toward her. She fell. He stopped. It turned out to be a teacher, later identified as Melody Flores.

She told him the shooter was "over there" in the teacher parking lot. Wearing all black. Three times she told him. And then, Gonzales said, the shots started.

He describes hearing rounds, but not seeing where they came from. Echo off the buildings. He couldn't pinpoint the location. Then he saw glass breaking out of the east-side windows. He radioed "shots fired." He moved toward the building. He entered through the south door with Chief Arredondo, Sergeant Donald Page, and Sergeant Coronado.

Inside the hallway, they came under fire. Lieutenant Martinez was hit in the thigh. They retreated. They called for SWAT. They held the door. Eventually, they helped evacuate children through windows on the west side.

At one point in the interview, Gonzales said he "made a mistake" by getting tunnel vision on the running woman instead of scanning for the real threat.

The Defense Interpretation

Defense attorney Jason Goss walked the ranger through this statement piece by piece, reframing every detail.

Adrian didn't wait. He drove toward what he believed was the threat at 50 miles per hour down a dirt road. When he learned the shooter was inside the building, he entered. He advanced down a hallway where officers were taking fire. He was there when bullets came through the walls and hit Lieutenant Martinez.

The "tunnel vision" wasn't a failure, Goss argued. It was a reasonable response. When dispatch says someone with a gun is running toward the school and you see someone running toward the school, you respond to that person. You don't know yet it's not the shooter. The funeral home director testified earlier that the actual gunman was hidden between parked cars. Adrian couldn't have seen him.

Goss also made the point that lands hardest with this jury: Adrian was interviewed as a witness. Not a suspect. Just like the other 50+ officers the ranger interviewed. None of them face charges. Nearly 400 officers responded that day. One is sitting in that chair.

"They picked one and put him in that chair," Goss said.

The Prosecution Response

On redirect, the prosecution zeroed in on what they see as the fatal flaw in Adrian's account.

Melody Flores told him three times where the shooter was. By the teacher parking lot. Wearing all black. Then he heard shots. Then he saw rounds coming out of the building. At that moment, he knew: the shooter was inside, and children were in danger.

What happened next? The prosecution wants the jury to focus on the timestamp evidence. The dispatch records will show exactly how long elapsed between when Adrian knew the shooter was inside and when he actually moved toward the building.

The prosecutor asked the ranger a devastating question: Is an officer who hears gunfire and does nothing any more helpful than a dead officer?

The ranger said no.

"But at least you try," the prosecutor said.

They also established that with ALERRT training, which Adrian had, solo entry is expected. Adrian didn't just have the training. He taught it. Two months before Uvalde, he instructed other officers on exactly what to do in this situation.

▶️ WATCH THE FULL TESTIMONY Texas Ranger Plays Adrian Gonzales' Complete Interview From Day After Uvalde

The Stakes

This testimony matters because it's not filtered through anyone else's interpretation. It's Adrian Gonzales in his own words, captured before he had any reason to protect himself legally.

The jury has to decide: Does this interview show a man who took action under impossible circumstances? Or does it show a man who had every piece of information he needed to act and chose to wait?

Both interpretations are plausible. That's what makes this case so difficult. The same words. The same gestures. Two completely different stories about what they mean.

The burden is on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Adrian Gonzales abandoned those children. His own words are now their primary weapon. Whether that weapon cuts in the direction they intended remains to be seen.