There are new allegations that Salvador Ramos was arrested as a juvenile after telling people he planned to “shoot the school in 2022 when he was a senior”
Texas republican Tony Gonzalez said Friday that Salvador Ramos, an armed gunman in Uwalde, was arrested four years ago as a juvenile after telling people he plans to break up the school as soon as he turns 18.
Gonzalez lamented FOX News on Friday morning.
“These were not rumors. I got this late last night: the shooter was arrested years ago, four years ago, for having this plan, mostly for what he said, you know, when I get older in 2022, I’m going to destroy the school . ‘
“Something has fallen between the cracks between now and now to allow this to happen. We need to shake out all the facts.
“We need to find out what happened. Where the holes are and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“But if law enforcement, you know, identified it four years ago as a threat, we need to find out why it wasn’t – you know how it was removed.”
Law enforcement and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott have not yet commented on the arrest, but a press briefing was scheduled for noon on EST.
Gonzalez later added: “I got the impression that he and another person were having a conversation, pondering things. Police examined him and detained him. He went to the juveniles, as far as I can understand, he was sent to a correctional facility. ”
On Wednesday, Ebat admitted that police did not yet know if Ramas had a minor.
However, FOX reporter Bill Melugin says Uwalde police deny that Ramos was involved in the shooting.
‘Texas DPS & Texas Rangers tell me it’s wrong. Several minors were arrested several years ago on charges of conspiracy, but Uvalde’s shooter was not involved in the incident and was not arrested, ”he said.
They have not yet made an official statement, and Gonzalez has not offered more information on where he got the information from.
Texas Republican Tony Gonzalez said Salvador Ramos, a gunman in the Uwalde shooting, was arrested four years ago as a minor after telling people he plans to break up the school as soon as he turns 18.
The teenager legally purchased two guns he used in the attack on Tuesday a few days after he turned 18 last week.
Now questions arise as to how he managed to acquire the weapon legally. Records of juvenile detention are often sealed, and it remains unclear to what extent they appear in document checks for adults who purchase guns.
Ramos had a difficult relationship with his mother Adriana, and he went to live with his grandparents, who just turned 18 last week.
On Tuesday morning, he launched an attack by shooting his grandmother Celia in the face. She survived by bumping into the street at a neighbor’s house, then together they called 911.
Ramos escaped in a stolen truck with his two guns and hundreds of rounds.
Ramos chatted with teens from different countries in programs like Yubo, and chatted with friends via Facebook Messenger.
On Tuesday, he sent a private message to a girl in Germany, in which he said he was going to “shoot in elementary school.”
There was also growing anger and frustration at the police response on the ground, and police retreated when he first opened fire and then waited more than an hour for special forces to be supported while Ramos remained in class, trapped with 19 children and two teachers. he killed.
On Thursday night, Security Department Lt. Chris Olivares said police did not rush to the classroom where Ramos was because they feared they would be shot.
Wolf Blitzer challenged him as to why the first officers who responded to the shooting retreated after Salvador Ramos shot at them from his AR-15 and then waited an hour for tactical riot police to knock him out, leaving a friend in class. of the 19 fourth-graders and two teachers he slaughtered.
Commemoration near Rob Elementary School in Uwalde on Thursday as questions arise as to whether the shooting could have been prevented
Security Department textbook Chris Olivares made strange comments during a speech on CNN last night. He said “Americans need to understand” that police officers could have been shot, so they retreated
“Aren’t modern best practices, Lieutenant, urging officers to disable the shooter as soon as possible, no matter how many officers are actually in place?” Asked Blitzer.
He replied: “In an active shooter situation you want to stop killing, you want to save lives. But also one thing that, of course, the American people need to understand is that officers are breaking into this building. They do not know where the armed man is. They hear shots. They get shot. “
He then seemed to be trying to take credit for locking up a gunman in a classroom with children for an hour – including some he shot early in the riot, who later died at the hospital – claiming it saved other lives.
Police initially said gunmen barricaded themselves in the classroom and had trouble accessing the room, and one unnamed official said anonymously that special forces should wait until another school officer brought them the key to the classroom.
“At that moment, if they moved on without knowing where the suspect was, they could be shot, they could be killed, and at that moment this armed man would have the opportunity to kill other people at this school.
When gunmen terrorized the school, desperate parents were forced to wait in the streets, and some even handcuffed after they tried to enter the school to find their children and rescue them
So the shooting happened nearly two hours after Ramos killed his grandmother at home. He arrived at the school at 11.28, and the first 911 calls were made. He then entered the building unhindered with his AR-15 and headed for the classroom. He fought off the police at 11.44 am, then was left alone in the room with the victims until about 12.44 – when the special forces arrived. The incident ended at 13.06
“So they were able to keep this armed man in this class so that he could not go to other parts of the school to commit any other murders,” said Lieutenant Olivares.
Experts called the decision to expect the backup “outdated” and “disgusting.”
“Waiting for an hour is disgusting. If that’s true, it’s a disgusting fact, “said Sean Burke, a retired school officer from Massachusetts who is now president of the School Safety Board.
Ramas was described as a loner who injured his face and had a troubled relationship with his mother
“If you have a person who you think is actively involved in harming people or trying to harm people, it is your duty as a police officer to stop that person immediately and neutralize the threat.
“We do not expect police officers to commit suicide.
“But it is expected that if someone is going to harm someone, especially children, you must take immediate action to stop it,” added Don Alves, a former instructor with the National Association of Tactical Officers.
Surgeons at Uwalde Hospital also suggested that a delay in responding to the shooting could cost some children their lives.
It is unclear exactly how many children were in the classroom when the shooter opened fire, how many were killed at once and how many were still alive but injured when police arrived.
The Uwalde Memorial Hospital took in two children who died before they were admitted to the hospital.
Doctors are now stressing the importance of treating gunshot wounds as soon as they happen.
“Patients cannot wait until they go to the emergency room.
“You need to act fast,” said Dr. Ronald Stewart, a senior trauma surgeon at University Hospital in Antonio.
