What Ten Children Looked Like After Uvalde

Dr. Shri Hotmire was in a staff meeting when the mass text went out. All physicians to the emergency room. Immediately.

She got there as fast as she could. Eight to ten other doctors were already working. Ten to fifteen patients. Triage protocol. Most critical first. All hands on deck.

Today she took the stand in the trial of Adrian Gonzales, the first Uvalde officer to face criminal charges for the law enforcement response to the Robb Elementary massacre. The prosecution asked her to read through the medical records of the children who survived.

So she did.

What She Described

Mia Rio had "pretty significant shrapnel" to her thorax, left flank, and left shoulder. Shrapnel is what happens when bullet fragments embed themselves in human tissue.

AJ Martinez took a gunshot wound to his right thigh with significant shrapnel, plus fragments to the left side of his head and face.

One child had shrapnel embedded in his right ankle, some pieces up to 10 millimeters, close to his Achilles tendon. Think about that. A centimeter of bullet fragment near the tendon that lets you walk.

Another child had what the doctor described as a "massive soft tissue defect." The exit wound measured 4 centimeters by 4 centimeters. About an inch and a half square.

The most critical case arrived scared, not talking, already receiving fluids because her blood pressure was crashing. She had a sucking chest wound on her left side. Air going in, not coming out. Both lungs collapsed.

The ER doctor performed emergency needle decompression to let the air out. Then bilateral chest tubes. Then they transferred her to a trauma center for higher-level care.

She also had gunshot wounds to her left shoulder, left arm, and right hand.

She was one of the lucky ones. She survived.

What the Defense Did

When the prosecution finished, defense attorney Jason Goss stood up.

He didn't challenge the testimony. He didn't cross-examine. He didn't question the records or the methodology or the treatment protocols.

He said: "I know that you would just say it's doing your job, but we appreciate that you did that. Helped those kids."

Then he sat down.

No questions.

What This Tells You About the Defense Strategy

The defense is not contesting what happened to these children. They're not minimizing the horror. They're not arguing the injuries weren't real or weren't serious.

Their argument is simpler: Adrian Gonzales isn't the one who should be held criminally responsible for it.

Gonzales faces 29 counts of child endangerment. Ten of those counts are for the surviving children whose wounds Dr. Hotmire just described. The prosecution has to prove that Gonzales "intentionally or knowingly" placed these children in imminent danger.

The defense's silence today was strategic. You don't win points by fighting a doctor who saved children's lives. You don't gain anything by making the jury think you're trying to minimize what happened to ten-year-olds.

Instead, you thank her. You acknowledge the horror. And you save your fight for the witnesses where you can actually score points.

The question for the jury isn't whether these children were harmed. That's not in dispute. The question is whether Adrian Gonzales is criminally responsible for that harm.

The prosecution still has to prove that connection. Today they proved the harm. Tomorrow they'll have to prove the rest.

▶️ WATCH NOW Doctor Who Treated Uvalde Survivors Takes the Stand

Watch the courtroom. Watch the reactions. Watch the defense attorney thank a doctor instead of questioning her.

And remember: this trial isn't about whether something terrible happened at Robb Elementary. Everyone knows something terrible happened. This trial is about who, if anyone, should be held criminally accountable for what law enforcement did and didn't do while it was happening.

That question is still being decided.