Salvador Ramos: Mother of Texas shooter says son ‘was not violent person’

Adriana Reyes said: ‘My son wasn’t a violent person. I’m surprised by what he did.’
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The mother of the Texas school shooter who killed 19 children and two adults has insisted her son “was not a violent person”.

He barricaded himself in a fourth-grade classroom, authorities said, and killed students and teachers before he was fatally shot by a US Border Patrol officer, Mr Abbott said. An additional 17 people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Speaking to DailyMail.com from the hospital where her mother was being treated for gunshot wounds to her face, Adriana Reyes said: “My son wasn’t a violent person. I’m surprised by what he did.

“I pray for those families. I’m praying for all of those innocent children, yes I am. They [the children] had no part in this.”

Mass Shooting At Elementary School In Uvalde, Texas Leaves At Least 21 Dead
Community members at a vigil for the 21 victims of the mass shooting
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She denied reports that she had a toxic relationship with her son that could have turned him into a killer. She continued: “I had a good relationship with him. He kept to himself; he didn’t have many friends.”

She added the last time she had seen him was on his birthday on Monday where she presented him with a Snoopy doll.

The teenage killer’s grandfather Rolando Reyes told how the family were kept in the dark about the two assault rifles he bought.

He told ABC News: “I didn’t know he had weapons. If I’d have known, I would have reported it.”

Ramos is believed to have gone to live with his grandparents after rowing with his mother about cutting the WiFi at their home.

It came as reports emerged that frustrated onlookers urged police officers to charge into the school.

“Go in there! Go in there!” nearby women shouted at the officers soon after the attack began, said Juan Carranza, 24, who saw the scene from outside his house, across the street from Robb Elementary School in the close-knit town of Uvalde. Carranza said the officers did not go in.

Javier Cazares, whose fourth grade daughter, Jacklyn Cazares, was killed in the attack, said he raced to the school when he heard about the shooting, arriving while police were still gathered outside the building.

Upset that police were not moving in, he raised the idea of charging into the school with several other bystanders.

“Let’s just rush in because the cops aren’t doing anything like they are supposed to,” he said. “More could have been done.”

“They were unprepared,” he added.

Neighbour Gilbert Gallegos, 82, who lives across the street and has known the family for decades, said he was puttering around in his yard when he heard the shots.

Ramos ran out the front door and across the small yard to the truck parked in front of the house. He seemed panicked, Mr Gallegos said.

Then he raced away: “He spun out, I mean fast,” spraying gravel in the air.

His grandmother emerged covered in blood. “She says, ‘Berto, this is what he did. He shot me.’” She was hospitalised and alerted the police.

Dillon Silva, whose nephew was in a classroom, said students were watching the Disney movie “Moana” when they heard several loud pops and a bullet shattered a window. Moments later, their teacher saw the attacker stride past.

“Oh, my God, he has a gun!” the teacher shouted twice, according to Mr Silva. “The teacher didn’t even have time to lock the door,” he said.

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