Governor Greg Abbott stated on Wednesday that the Texas gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers posted an online message minutes before the attack saying that he was going to fire at an elementary school, as more heartbreaking details of Tuesday’s rampage surfaced.
According to Abbott, the gunman, Salvador Ramos, 18, sent a message on Tuesday claiming he was going to shoot his grandmother and another one confirming he had done so. Ramos’ grandmother, who was wounded in the face by the suspect shortly before the school attack, survived and phoned the cops.
Except for the internet posts, Ramos provided no notice. He fled the home they shared after shooting his grandmother and crashed his car near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of San Antonio.
Officials said a school police officer approached him outside the building, but no gunshot was exchanged. The guy dumped a bag full of ammunition on the ground and raced towards the school when he saw the officer, according to authorities.
Ramos then entered the school through a rear entrance, armed with an AR-15-style weapon, and proceeded down two corridors to a fourth-grade classroom, where he shot all of the victims. Authorities say he bought two firearms and 375 rounds of ammo legally just days before the shooting.
Texas gunman sent online warning minutes before attack
Meanwhile, police encircled the facility and broke windows to assist the youngsters and workers. Border Patrol agents also arrived and entered the facility to engage the shooter, with one agent being injured “in the crossfire,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Ramos, a high school dropout with no criminal record or mental illness background, was eventually shot and killed by police.
According to Chris Olivarez, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson, Abbott stated 17 people received non-life threatening injuries, including “many youngsters” who survived the gunfire in their classroom.
The governor stated that the posts were made on Facebook, but spokesmen for Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms FB.O, stated that they were private one-to-one messages found after the shooting. The business refused to disclose who received the messages or which Meta platform, such as Messenger or Instagram, was used to send them.
Reports from Reuters
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