In a heart-wrenching testimony on the fifth day of the trial, Arnulfo Reyes, a teacher at Robb Elementary School, detailed the horrific events of the 2022 shooting that took the lives of 19 students and two teachers. Reyes described how the attack began when he saw a 'black shadow' with a gun enter his classroom, prompting him to pray for an end to the violence.
During the gripping recount, Reyes described being shot in the arm and back by the gunman, Salvador Ramos, who he said taunted him during the attack. 'I looked at my door and that’s when I saw him ... a black shadow. The black shadow was holding a gun,' Reyes testified. 'When I fell, he came around and he shot the kids.'
Reyes was in Room 111 during the attack, and sadly, none of the children survived. His testimony came alongside that of Adrian Gonzales, the former school police officer accused of failing to intervene during the shooting. Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of child abandonment or endangerment, as prosecutors argue he did not act to stop the shooter during the critical first moments of the attack.
Just before Reyes' testimony, the courtroom viewed surveillance footage of Ramos entering the school and firing shots. Emotions ran high as witnesses, including the jury, were exposed to the harrowing realities of what transpired that day.
The trial highlights the urgent need for accountability in law enforcement and the implications of inaction in such life-threatening situations. As the proceedings unfold, the memories of the tragedy weigh heavily on the survivors and the families affected by the school shooting.
