Before perpetrating the shooting at the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which 18 children and two adults died, the 18-year-old perpetrator of the massacre shot his grandmother in this small town west of San Antonio. This was reported by the authorities, who still ignore the motivation for his actions.
Identified as Salvador Ramos, 18, the young man is a US citizen and was a student at Uvalde High School, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, without specifying whether he had graduated this year.
A police photo that circulated in the local media shows a young man with shoulder-length brown hair, a pale and expressionless face.
Before committing this murder, he would have “shot his grandmother,” Abbott continued, emphasizing that he was unaware of the links between the two events.
According to a local legislator, the woman was transported to a hospital in San Antonio.
The San Antonio University Health Hospital confirmed that it admitted a 66-year-old woman in “critical condition” after being shot, without confirming her identity.
Then, equipped with a bulletproof vest and a rifle, according to Sergeant Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Safety, the young man fled in a car that he abandoned near Robb Elementary School after suffering a “spectacular accident.”
At around 11:30 local time, after being found by police, the assailant ran into the school and opened fire in several classrooms, Sgt. Estrada told CNN.
For the students, ten years old at the most, and the teachers of this school of 500 students, mostly Hispanics, the end of the year was set for Thursday.
The officer clarified that local police had not reported any car chases, which seems to suggest that the traffic accident was unprovoked.
The young man died during a shootout with police. Two officers also suffered minor injuries, Gov. Abbott said.
According to Pete Arredondo, chief of police for the Uvalde School District, who is in charge of the investigation, the attacker acted alone.
Investigators are trying to get “detailed information about the profile” of the killer, “his motives, the type of weapons used and whether he had permission to possess them,” Abbott said.
Sergeant Estrada said he did not know if the police had knowledge of the young man.
In social networks, he is associated with an Instagram account, deleted after the massacre, which contains several photos: two black and white self-portraits where he appears with a hooded jacket, hair down to the nape of his neck, and a photo of a porter. rifles.
In another shot, two semi-automatic rifles can be seen.
