Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old who shot and killed 21 people on Tuesday, posted Instagram stories that featured guns before walking into the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. He was killed by police.
Who is Salvador Ramos?
Ramos shot and killed his grandmother before entering the school, according to multiple news sources. Texas Governor Greg Abbott told reporters that he "has no further information about the connection between those two shootings." The shooter also reportedly acted alone, CNN reported citing the local chief of police Pete Arredondo.
The shooter also tagged a stranger in his Instagram stories that featured his guns. His account was later taken down after the shooting occurred, according to The New York Post. Ramos reportedly messaged the stranger "I'm about to" hours before the incident took place, but the stranger did not know what he meant, according to multiple reports. The guns featured on his stories included two AR15-style rifles.
Ramos also worked at a Wendy's for a year and quit a month ago, the restaurant's manager told The New York Times, who added that he had abnormal behavior and would "keep by himself."
A TikTok account under the handle "Salv8dor_" was deleted the same day and was possibly linked to Ramos, Newsweek reported. It is unclear if TikTok deleted the account.
A former classmate of Ramos said that the gunman texted him photos of firearms and ammunition days before the shooting, CNN reported. He also said that Ramos rarely attended class, and was teased by others for what he wore and his poor financial situation.
Ramos also crashed his car near a ditch before entering the school premises, Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Erick Estrada told CNN.
Law enforcement engaged Ramos but he was nevertheless able to enter the school building, where he "entered several classrooms and started shooting his firearm," Estrada said.
Ramos was also wearing body armor at the incident. Police officials said that he started firing at “whoever’s in his way,” the Post reported.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.