UVALDE, Texas – KPRC 2 Investigates has learned more information about the teenage gunman who went on a devastating rampage in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Tuesday afternoon killing 19 students and two teachers.
According to officials, 18-year-old Salvador Rolando Ramos is the person who police believe acted as a lone shooter in the incident at Robb Elementary School.
State troopers tell KPRC 2 Investigates that prior to the school shooting, Ramos shot his grandmother during an argument. The grandmother’s condition is not known, but sources say she is believed to be alive.
Ramos next took off in a truck which he crashed into a ditch a short time later. After shooting at responding officers, Ramos made his way into the school.
“At that point as he made entry he began shooting children, teachers, anybody that was in his way he was shooting people that were in front of him,” said Lt. Chris Olivares with the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Tuesday evening, KPRC 2 Investigates obtained the following additional information from a source with close knowledge of the events that took place in Uvalde:
- The source reports that according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the suspect legally purchased two AR platform rifles at a local federal firearms licensee on two separate dates: May 17, 2022, and May 20, 2022. One of the rifles he had purchased was left in the crashed truck. The other rifle (a Daniel Defense) was located in the school with the suspect.
- On May 18, 2022, the suspect reportedly purchased 375 rounds of 5.56 ammunition.
- ATF paperwork shows the suspect’s home address, as does his driver’s license, in the 500 block of Diaz Street in Uvalde. That is the address where his grandmother lived and was shot.
- It appears the suspect dropped a backpack with several magazines full of ammunition near the entrance of the school. Inside the school, what appears to be seven 30-round magazines were discovered. It will not be known whether they are expended until the crime scene is processed.
- After further inspection of the deceased suspect’s clothing, it now appears the suspect was not wearing body armor as previous information had indicated. Instead, Ramos is said to have been wearing only a plate carrier with no ballistic armor inside when he exchanged gunfire with several officers at the school.
According to information from city officials, Ramos is from the town of Uvalde, which is 85 miles west of San Antonio, and was born on May 16, 2004.
Interview with a neighbor
Eduardo Trinidad is a neighbor and former in-law of Ramos’ grandmother. During an interview with KPRC 2 Investigates reporter Robert Arnold, Trinidad shared that he saw the aftermath of Ramos crashing his truck.
“He went straight through a barricade, it’s a concrete ditch and the truck is in there,” said Trinidad.
Trinidad snapped photos of a bag and rifle he believes Ramos dropped next to the truck before running off. He also briefly shared information about Ramos’ personality.
“He was a loner because my nephew worked with him at Burger King and he was kind of like a loner you know,” said Trinidad.
According to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Ramos was shot and killed by authorities.
The Texas Rangers are in the process of attempting to identify victims. Federal agents, including the FBI spent much of Tuesday evening interviewing neighbors living around Ramos’ grandmother’s house. Crime scene processing is expected to begin Wednesday.
According to the US Border Patrol, a US Border Patrol BORTAC Agent who sustained a grazing gunshot wound while confronting Ramos has been released from the hospital.
It is unclear what motive Ramos had in this shooting, or if he had previously attended the school.
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