By Shimon Prokupecz, Matthew J. Friedman, Rachel Clarke, CNN
Corpus Christi, Texas (CNN) — The first day of the first trial for an officer charged in connection with the mishandled response to the Uvalde school massacre ended Tuesday with heated exchanges between prosecution and defense lawyers, prompting the judge to cancel testimony Wednesday.
Instead, Judge Sid Harle set aside Wednesday’s scheduled half-day of court to happen without the jury, allowing both sides to continue debating whether prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense and how to address it — options that could include a mistrial.
Here’s what happened and what comes next.
A teacher testifies
Stephanie Hale was the fourth witness to testify Tuesday. The jury of seven women and five men in Corpus Christi, Texas, had already heard from a funeral home employee who said he was shot at by a man exiting a crashed truck, as well as two Texas Rangers who responded to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022, when two teachers and 19 children were killed.
Prosecutors opened the day by alleging Adrian Gonzales, an officer with the school district police force, failed to locate, engage or delay the gunman when he arrived at the school.
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child endangerment or abandonment. His defense team argued they would show, through a detailed timeline, that Gonzales did the best he could and that the deaths and injuries were solely the fault of the shooter.
Hale took the stand to talk about her experiences as a third-grade teacher at Robb Elementary school that day, when awards were being handed out near the end of the school year.
She testified she had taken her students outside for extra recess when she heard strange noises — first a crashing sound, like a dumpster being picked up and emptied, then pops that sounded like fireworks. A coach radioed, yelling for everyone to get inside, she said. Realizing something was wrong, she urged the children to go inside.
“And then, as we were all running into the classroom, I saw the — I don’t know what to call him — horrible person walking …” her voice trailed off as she became emotional and took time to compose herself.
Hale described harrowing minutes inside the classroom as she army-crawled under tiny desks to reach upset students and calm them with breathing exercises. She and another teacher agreed to use scissors to defend themselves if necessary. Later, she saw many of the children had armed themselves with their own safety scissors, apparently copying their teachers.
Prosecutor Bill Turner then directed her to a placard showing the layout of Robb Elementary, asking Hale to indicate to the jury where she had been when the alarm was raised.
She testified children were playing near an open-air pavilion and that she may have seen puffs of dirt indicating shots were being fired in that area. “I thought so, yes,” she said. Turner then asked if she saw anyone while seeking shelter in a classroom.
“On the way to the classroom, I saw a person in all black and a long weapon,” she testified, indicating where he had been.
“It looked like he was at this — there’s an entrance, a door right there, I thought he was more on the sidewalk.”
That detail would prove crucial.
A defense surprised
Defense lawyer Jason Goss asked Hale about an interview she had with investigators four days after the attack, conducted in the school building next to where she was hiding with students.
“During that interview, you described going into the classroom and you descri