Minutes before the mass shooting, Ramos allegedly sent a series of text messages to a European teenager he had met online, describing how he had just shot his grandmother and “would shoot an elementary school.”
According to screenshots reviewed by CNN and an interview with the girl, whose mother gave her permission to be interviewed, Ramos complained that her grandmother was “on the phone with AT&T on (sic) my phone.”
“It’s annoying,” he wrote.
Six minutes later, he sent a text message: “I just shot my grandmother in the head.”
A few seconds later, he said, “I’m going to shoot at an elementary school (right now).”
The 15-year-old, who lives in Frankfurt, Germany, said she started chatting with Ramos on a social media app on May 9th.
He said Ramos told him Monday he received a package of ammunition. He said he told her the bullets would explode when they hit someone.
At one point, the girl asked him what he planned to do. He said he told her it was a surprise and that “just wait for it.”
On Tuesday, at 11:01 a.m., Ramos called and told him he loved her, he said. Then, about 20 minutes later, he sent her a text message that she had fired at her grandmother.
On Wednesday, the shooter’s 66-year-old grandmother was in serious condition at a San Antonio hospital, authorities said.
The shooter crashed his vehicle before the killing
It is unclear why Ramos decided to go to Robb Elementary, a school that had 535 students in grades 2-4 last year.
But before entering the school, his vehicle crashed into a nearby ditch, according to the Texas Department of Homeland Security (DPS) sergeant. said Erick Estrada. The cause of the accident was unclear.
Ramos got out of the vehicle with a bulletproof vest and a rifle, the sergeant said.
How the school shooting unfolded
The gunman was met with a school district police officer, who was unable to stop him, Estrada said.
“He was hired by a Uvalde ISD police officer who works here at the school. And after that, he was hired by two more officers from the Uvalde police department,” Estrada said.
Officials have not made it clear how Ramos managed to outrun the officers and open fire on adjacent classrooms.
While “engaged” with the school official, the gunman dropped a black bag full of ammunition outside the school, Estrada told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
“Actually, there was more ammunition in that bag. In fact, he dropped that ammunition and ran inside the school where he barricaded himself in one of the classrooms and, unfortunately, that was where he started doing his business of shooting innocent children, shooting the two innocent adults who were inside that classroom, “he said.
DPS is still investigating what happened during that interaction, but during a press conference, director Steven McGraw said no shots were fired.
More than 100 federal agents responded to the school’s deadly shooting Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, according to the Customs and Border Patrol.
“When all was said and done, we had more than 80 agents immediately at the scene, and after that, about 150 agents converged in that area,” CBP chief Raul Ortiz told CNN on Wednesday.
Ortiz said the officers came from several divisions, including the Border Patrol, Air and Maritime Operations, and National Security Investigations.
Officers and other security forces fired at the barricade, which had been barricaded, National Security Department spokeswoman Marsha Espinosa tweeted.
“These Border Patrol officers and other officers, risking their own lives, stood between the shooter and the children on the scene to divert the shooter’s attention from the potential victims and save lives,” he wrote.
Eventually, a tactical agency “was able to remove the threat and bring down the suspect,” Estrada said.
What we know about the victims
Hours after the shooting, families waited anxiously at a nearby civic center to find out if their loved ones had survived. Some told CNN they gave DNA samples to help identify the victims.
“We see people coming out terrified. They are crying one by one. They are told their son is dead,” said state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who was at the civic center on Tuesday.
Outside, a father who had just learned of his son’s death fought back tears as he was hugged by his cousins, CNN’s Nicole Chavez reported.
A few meters away came a grandmother from Sant Antoni. He said he would not stop praying for his 10-year-old granddaughter while they waited for the identification results of the DNA swabs.
On Wednesday morning, several families confirmed that they had received devastating news.
Just hours before he was killed, 10-year-old Xavier Lopez was held at the Robb Elementary ceremony, his mother, Felicha Martinez, told The Washington Post.
“I really couldn’t wait to go to high school,” he said.
Angel Garza said he spent seven hours looking for his 10-year-old daughter. He finally learned that Amerie Jo Garza was among the murdered children.
“Please don’t take a second for granted,” Garza posted on Facebook. “Hug your family. Tell them you love them.”
Eliahana ‘Elijah’ Cruz Torres, 10, was also one of the victims, her aunt Leandra Vera told CNN. “Our baby gained his wings,” she said.
Tess Marie Mata, also 10, died in the shooting, her sister Faith Mata, 21, confirmed to the Washington Post.
“My beautiful angel, you are so deeply loved. In my eyes you are not a victim, but a survivor. I love you always and beyond always little sister, may your wings rise higher than you could ever dream.” , wrote Faith Mata on Twitter.
Tess was a fourth-grader who loved the dances of TikTok, Ariana Grande, and the Houston Astros, Faith Mata told the Post. Tess was saving money for a family trip to Disney World.
On Wednesday, six victims remained hospitalized, four of whom – including the gunman’s grandmother – are in San Antonio University Hospital, according to the hospital.
Two 10-year-old girls are among the people in the hospital, one in serious condition and the other in good condition, the hospital said. A 9-year-old boy in hospital is also in good condition.
Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio was treating two adult patients from the shooting. Both are in serious condition, the hospital tweeted.
Judge Lalo Diaz told CNN that the bodies of nine victims were to be released at the funeral on Wednesday evening. The remaining 12 will be released Thursday, Diaz said.
What we know about the shooter
The gunman was a student at Uvalde High School, officials said.
Three days before the shooting, a photo of two AR-15-style rifles appeared on an Instagram account linked to Ramos.
One of Ramos’ former classmates, who did not want to be identified, told CNN that Ramos recently sent him a photo showing an AR-15, a backpack with ammunition and several weapons magazines.
“I said, ‘Brother, why do you have this? and said, “Don’t worry about it,” the friend said.
“He proceeded to send me a text message: ‘I look very different now. I wouldn’t recognize myself,'” the friend added.
The friend said Ramos had stopped attending school regularly.
Ramos worked at a local Wendy’s, the restaurant manager told CNN.
The manager of the night, Adrian Mendes, said that Ramos “stayed for him mostly” and “didn’t really socialize with the other employees … He just worked, cashed in and went to get his check “.
The German teenager who said she and Ramos had been communicating for weeks said Ramos told her she spent a lot of time alone at home.
“Every time I talked to him,” he said, “he never had plans with his friends.”
CNN’s Isabelle Chapman, Daniel A. Medina, Paradise Afshar, Curt Devine, Jeff Winter, Evan Perez, Andy Rose, Priscilla Alvarez, Jamiel Lynch, Donie O’Sullivan, Jose Lesh, Amanda Jackson, David Williams, Sara Smart, Amanda Watts , Chris Boyette, Joe Sutton, Joseph Bonheim and Jennifer Henderson contributed to this report.