About two weeks ago, the trial for the police officer from the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas started. Parents have testified. Teachers have testified. Law enforcement has been called in. The history of the officer's training is under discussion as I type this. Columbine High School has been referenced several times today.
The Columbine High School massacre, April 20, 1999, was a water shed event that occurred at least eight months after the Guide to Safe Schools was published in 1998. The principal in the Columbine tragedy was treated like a hero, much to my chagrin.
Like chalk scratching on the blackboard, these trials bring back memories of my experience in March and April 1998, (a full year before Columbine became a killing field) with Uvalde being over two decades later on May 24, 2022. My story is about prevention.
The characters are different in every trial, but the scenes are the same. Failure to recognize signs, failure to respond, failure to follow safety rules. Like every school shooting, documentaries and lots of news articles have been written. Someone ends up on trial. Since many of the shooters take their own lives or are killed at the scene, trials for the actual person who does the shooting are not always possible. The trial of the shooter from the Parkland, Florida high school massacre (February 14, 2018) was interesting to say the least. The witnesses were not much different from the witnesses in this current trial of the police officer.
From the day of the tragedy on May 24, 2022, unlocked doors and uncontrolled access to the building has been in the discussion. This trial is highlighting the doors, training, standard operating procedures for school safety, drills and the response of the officers. The defendant in this trial, Adrian Gonzales, is facing 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment in relation to how he responded to the events.
The testimony on January 12, 2026, by the fourth-grade teacher, shot in the attack, addressed questions about doors and protocol. He was asked about his actions that day before, during and after the gunman entered the school. This teacher also had to identify the students' pictures from his class who were killed and or injured. The camera never showed his face but did focus on his scarred arm. He was asked if he still taught. His last day of teaching was on May 24, 2022.
Expert testimony evidently is being treated differently from school district personnel testimony because the current witness, a law enforcement officer, called to the school, can have his face shown? Another officer, in full uniform, is testifying on video also has his face shown.
No matter how this trial ends, nothing on May 24, 2022, can be undone. Controversy will continue to swirl. The victims are still dead.
Some of the comments in the YouTube chats thought it was terrible that the teacher and parents have to relive the day. I disagree. As hard as it is, trials do bring out facts if people are telling the truth, questions go unanswered without trials.
Is this man the only person who should stand trial for the tragedy? The jury is still out.
Pay attention. Even though school districts train for such scenarios, they hope it never happens and sadly, many will say, we never thought it could happen here. These trials remind us it can and does.
Court TV Day 5 has the testimony of the fourth-grade teacher.
LIVE: TX v. Adrian Gonzales - Day 5 | Uvalde School Massacre Trial
Today, January 13, 2026, is Day 6 of the trial.
What lessons can be learned?
Marian R. Carlino
January 13, 2026
