A Border Patrol officer killed the Uvalde elementary school shooter on Tuesday, said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at a news conference.
“Officers with the Consolidated Independent School District (ISD) approached the gunman and engaged with the gunman,” the Republican governor said. “The gunman then entered a back door and then went down two short hallways and then into a classroom on the left-hand side.”
The gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, then went into a classroom, which was connected to another classroom and opened fire, Abbott said. Ramos is accused of killing at least 19 children and two adults.
“Border Patrol, Consolidated ISD officers, police, sheriffs, and DPS (Texas Department of Public Safety) officers converged on that classroom. And a Border Patrol officer killed the gunman,” Abbott said.
Before heading to Robb Elementary School, Ramos allegedly shot his grandmother in the face and fled the home, said Abbott and other officials. He entered Robb Elementary through a back door carrying an AR-15-style rifle and wearing tactical gear, although officials said he wasn’t wearing body armor.
While in the school, he barricaded himself in fourth-grade classroom, authorities said, before turning the gun on students and teachers before he was shot by the Border Patrol officer. Another 17 people suffered injuries, he said.
Before the spree, Ramos purchased two rifles and 375 rounds of ammunition in March, authorities said.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez told CNN that his grandmother, who wasn’t identified, is still alive and hospitalized in critical condition.
“We’re hoping, we’re praying, that the grandmother does pull through because obviously, she is a key witness,” Olivarez said. Authorities are trying to locate the suspect’s grandfather, Rolando Reyes, who gave an interview to ABC News about the incident.
Speaking to ABC, Reyes said that he was not aware his grandson had purchased weapons and ammunition in recent days, saying that he would have alerted the authorities had he known because Reyes is a convicted felon and can’t be in the same home with firearms.
“I didn’t know he had weapons. If I’d have known, I would have reported it,” he remarked.
Reyes said that Ramos was quiet and mostly kept to himself.
“Sometimes I’d take him to work with me. Not all the time, but sometimes. This past year he didn’t go to school. He didn’t graduate. You would try to tell him but kids nowadays they think they know everything,” he said, adding: “He was very quiet; he didn’t talk very much.”
From The Epoch Times
