Arnulfo Reyes, a teacher who survived the 2022 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, told a jury Monday that the attack began when he looked at his classroom door and saw “a black shadow” holding a gun. Reyes was shot in the arm and back during the attack. None of the children in his classroom survived.

His testimony came on the fifth day of the trial of Adrian Gonzales, a former Uvalde schools police officer charged with 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment for allegedly failing to act against the gunman in the first moments of the shooting.

The trial in Corpus Christi, Texas, is among the rarest of legal proceedings: a criminal case in which a law enforcement officer faces charges for allegedly failing to stop a crime in progress. Prosecutors contend Gonzales abandoned his active-shooter training and had at least two opportunities to engage or distract 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos before a tactical team finally killed him — more than an hour after the attack began.

“I looked at my door and that’s when I saw him … a black shadow. The black shadow was holding a gun. I just saw the fire come out of the gun,” Arnulfo Reyes testified Monday in the Corpus Christi, Texas, courtroom where former Uvalde schools police officer Adrian Gonzales stands trial. “He shot at me and hit me in my arm. That’s when I fell to the ground.”

Reyes, who taught fourth grade in Room 111 at Robb Elementary School, said 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos then turned to his students. “When I fell, he came around and he shot the kids,” he said. Ramos shot Reyes in the back as well. Reyes said he prayed and “gave myself to the Lord … and waited for everything to be over.”

None of the children in Reyes’ classroom survived the May 2022 attack, in which Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers before a tactical team killed him — more than an hour after he entered the school.

What Reyes heard inside the school

Reyes said Ramos at one point moved into the adjoining classroom. From the floor of Room 111, Reyes said he heard a student call out, “Officer, we’re in here,” before more shooting followed.

Ramos taunted Reyes while Reyes tried to pretend he was dead, Reyes testified.

Reyes was not asked about Gonzales during questioning by prosecutors. He said he encountered a Border Patrol officer only after the shooting stopped. His testimony is expected to continue Tuesday.

The prosecution’s case

Prosecutors allege that Gonzales, who was among the first of more than 370 federal, state and local officers to arrive at Robb Elementary, abandoned his active-shooter training. They contend he had an opportunity to engage or distract Ramos while the gunman was still outside the school and failed to do so. Prosecutors allege he failed a second time when a group of officers entered the building but retreated after coming under heavy gunfire.

While much of the trial has centered on events outside the school as the attack began, prosecutors used Reyes’ account of the classroom massacre to illustrate what they say was the ultimate consequence of Gonzales’ alleged inaction. At one point, prosecutors showed jurors school portraits of each of the 19 children and asked Reyes to read their names and state whether they died or survived.

Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment.

Defense arguments

At the start of cross-examination, defense attorneys noted that the doors to the outside of the school and to Reyes’ classroom were unlocked in violation of school policy. Reyes said he had believed his classroom door was locked.

Courtroom atmosphere

Just before Reyes took the stand, the court watched surveillance video of Ramos entering the school and opening fire. The judge had warned the courtroom the images and sounds would be graphic. Gonzales showed no visible expression as emergency calls and a woman screaming played in the courtroom. He appeared to flinch when the first shots rang out and covered his mouth with his left hand, the Associated Press reported.

The trial’s opening days included recordings of initial emergency calls, testimony from teachers who sheltered with terrified students, and an account from the mother of one victim describing how her daughter had asked to leave school early that day. Jurors have also seen graphic photographs from inside the school.

The case is considered a rare instance of a law enforcement officer facing criminal charges for allegedly failing to stop a crime in progress. Gonzales and former Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo are the only two responding officers to face charges in connection with the attack. A trial date for Arredondo has not been set.