A former Uvalde school police officer is speaking out after he was acquitted on all counts nearly four years after the shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

Adrian Gonzales, who was charged with 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment tied to the shooting, said in his first interview since the acquittal that he has no regrets about the actions he took on May 24, 2022.

The jury deliberated for just seven hours before returning the verdict. Gonzales did not take the stand during the trial, while his attorneys brought up two witnesses.

JURY REACHES VERDICT IN TRIAL OF EX-UVALDE SCHOOL POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF FAILING TO CONFRONT GUNMAN

An investigation found that it took 77 minutes from the time authorities arrived at the scene until the tactical team breached a classroom and killed the shooter. Police faced criticism over their response in the years since the shooting.

“You can sit here and tell me all you want about what I would have done, or what you would have done. Until you’re in that mix, you can’t tell me anything,” Gonzales told ABC News.

Gonzales was the first on the scene at Robb Elementary School when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos carried out his deadly attack. The former school police officer told ABC News that he did not see Ramos and that he retreated from inside the school building because of an order from his commanding officer.

“I did the best that I could with the information I was getting,” he said, adding, “I don’t regret it, because I took an order from my chief at that time.”

UVALDE TRIAL HALTED AFTER KEY WITNESS CHANGES TESTIMONY

While he stands behind the actions he took during the shooting, Gonzales told ABC News that he understands that the victims’ families were frustrated with the verdict. He also said that he prays for the victims, their families and the community.

The 52-year-old former officer told ABC News that he believes he was selectively prosecuted, while others who arrived at the scene did not have their actions scrutinized.

“When the videos started playing, I realized that they handpicked me,” he told ABC News. “They had an excuse for everybody else. They did this, they did that, you know, but I had to do this, I had to do that.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

After the verdict, Gonzales thanked God, his family, his legal team and the jury.

“First things first, I want to start by thanking God for this,” Gonzales said. “My family, my wife, and these guys right here. He put them in my path, you know? And I’m just thankful for that. Thank you to the jury for considering all the evidence and making their verdict.”

Former Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo was also criminally charged in relation to the 2022 shooting. He was charged with endangerment or abandonment of a child and has pleaded not guilty. A date for Arredondo’s trial has not yet been set.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.

A Venezuelan national accused of threatening Arizona residents at gunpoint while claiming control over part of a Maricopa County community is facing multiple felony charges, including terrorism, authorities said.

Arizona Department of Public Safety investigators allege Javier Enrique Erazo-Zuniga, 27, claimed control over part of Maricopa and threatened residents with deadly weapons in an effort to extort money, according to reporting by InMaricopa and statements from state authorities.

DPS spokesperson Bart Graves told InMaricopa detectives began investigating Erazo-Zuniga in December after receiving information that he was “claiming Hidden Valley in Maricopa as his territory and demanding money from victims.”

Investigators allege Erazo-Zuniga was tied to a series of violent incidents involving residents who were targeted at their homes. In one 2024 incident, authorities say he put a victim in a headlock and held a knife to the person’s neck, leaving a cut. Last month, investigators allege he waited at the end of another victim’s driveway and held the victim at gunpoint.

SUSPECTED VENEZUELAN GANGSTER IN PORTLAND CBP ATTACK TIED TO SHOOTING AT APARTMENT COMPLEX: POLICE

During a search of Erazo-Zuniga’s bedroom, detectives recovered a firearm believed to have been used in the December gunpoint incident, Graves said.

Erazo-Zuniga was booked into the Pinal County Jail, where jail records show he remains in custody on a $250,000 secured bond. He was later indicted by a Pinal County grand jury.

Court records obtained by the outlet show the grand jury charged Erazo-Zuniga with aggravated assault involving a firearm, two counts of forgery and two counts of misconduct involving weapons, including possession of handguns while prohibited. Prosecutors allege the aggravated assault charge qualifies as a dangerous felony because it involved the use or threatened exhibition of a firearm.

AURORA TERRORIZED BY VENEZUELAN GANG AS DICTATOR MADURO LET TREN DE ARAGUA SEIZE POWER

DPS has also stated that Erazo-Zuniga is charged with assisting a criminal street gang and terrorism, though those allegations were outlined by the agency rather than detailed in the indictment documents released by the Pinal County Superior Court. Authorities have said additional charges could be forthcoming, potentially at the federal level.

According to a minute entry filed in superior court, Erazo-Zuniga is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

Graves said investigators believe there may be multiple additional victims, but that some have been afraid to come forward.

DOJ CHARGES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH TREN DE ARAGUA TIES AFTER BORDER PATROL SHOOTING IN PORTLAND

“We encourage them to contact our tip line,” Graves said. DPS asked anyone with information related to the case to call 602-644-5805.

Authorities have not confirmed whether the investigation could expand beyond Maricopa.

The case comes amid heightened national law enforcement scrutiny of Venezuelan criminal groups following a series of high-profile investigations in Colorado in 2024 and 2025.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Federal prosecutors there indicted Venezuelan nationals accused of participating in organized robberies, kidnappings, extortion schemes and firearms offenses tied to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua. While some early claims of gang “takeovers” were later disputed or clarified, authorities have confirmed multiple violent cases involving coordinated criminal activity and armed suspects.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Homeland Security Investigations, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office and the FBI for additional information.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

An Arizona OnlyFans star with alleged ties to a Mexican cartel was abducted at gunpoint by multiple armed men in Mexico Tuesday, according to footage that captured the incident.

The reported kidnapping of 20-year-old Mexican-American Nicole Pardo Molina, known for driving a distinctive lilac Cybertruck, was captured by her vehicle’s cameras.

According to Spanish outlet El Pais, the incident took place outside a shopping center in Culiacán, Sinaloa, where she was selling merchandise bearing the image of cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. The area where she lived and where her father is from is reportedly controlled by a rival faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, suggesting the kidnapping is possibly linked to cartel rivalry.

In the footage, Molina, who has more than 180,000 Instagram followers, was approached by a white Toyota Corolla and multiple attackers, who reportedly used tire spikes to bring her vehicle to a halt before pulling up alongside her, El Pais reported.

DEA, FBI SEIZE $10 MILLION IN CRYPTOCURRENCY ‘DIRECTLY LINKED TO THE SINALOA CARTEL’

“According to initial investigations, three armed men in a stolen white vehicle threw tire spikes at the SUV the victim was traveling in, intercepted it, and then forced the victim into the car,” authorities said, according to El País.

Chaos erupted as she struggled, desperately trying to slam the Toyota’s rear passenger door shut and scramble back into her own car, according to the footage. 

The men appeared to eventually overpower her and force her into the back of the car, while a third man in the driver’s seat sped away.

US OFFICIALS WARN SNOWBIRDS OF ‘VIOLENT CRIME’ IN WINTER DESTINATION HOT SPOT

El País reported that Molina was well-known in Culiacán for her customized lilac Cybertruck, a vehicle that made her instantly recognizable.

Authorities have confirmed Molina’s disappearance and opened a missing persons case to locate the 20-year-old. They are investigating possible links to the ongoing turf war between rival cartels.

According to the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Sinaloa, officials have no information regarding her whereabouts and said, “It is considered that her safety may be at risk, as she could be a victim of a crime.”

MEXICO TO EXTRADITE 26 TOP CARTEL LEADERS TO US IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEAL

Molina was born and raised in the U.S., and her parents live in Phoenix, Arizona, El País reported. She frequently travels between Culiacán and Phoenix, where her family still lives.

El País added that Molina reportedly dropped out of school in the U.S. after the COVID-19 pandemic to pursue business ventures in Mexico.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

While there were no confirmed criminal links prior to the kidnapping, authorities and media reports suggest the incident may be tied to cartel rivalries.

In 2025, hundreds of women were kidnapped or disappeared in Sinaloa alone, according to official figures. A growing number of influencers have also been threatened or killed for promoting or alluding to specific cartel factions. In May 2025, for instance, influencer Valeria Marquez was murdered during a TikTok livestream.