No criminal history, no connection with a criminal group: who is Salvador Ramos, the young killer who opened fire on Tuesday at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas?
School friends and a cousin described to the Washington Post a child withdrawn and sometimes made fun of, especially in college, especially for a lisp. “He was bullied by a lot of people”, says Stephen Garcia, who describes himself as having been his best friend in eighth grade. “He was super nice, super shy. He just needed to come out of his shell.”
However, later “He began to become a different person, says the same young man. It was getting worse and worse,” he adds.
A change also noticed by Santos Valdez Jr., a classmate since primary school, who says he saw him arrive one day with scars all over his face. Salvador Ramos ended up admitting to having cut himself many times with a knife. For fun, he would have said.
Stormy relationship with his mother
The teenager began to drop out at school, where he had long periods of absence. He let his hair grow and dressed in all black with heavy military shoes. He also allegedly went on night drives with another youngster, throwing eggs at cars and shooting random people with a BB gun, according to Santos Valdez.
His relationship with his mother, with whom he lived, became increasingly difficult, according to a 41-year-old neighbor, Ruben Flores, who invited them several times. “He was posting videos on his Instagram where the cops were there and he was calling his mom a p… and saying she wanted to kick him out,” says Nadia Reyes, high school classmate. According to several witnesses, his mother took drugs.
Salvador Ramos ended up moving in with his grandmother a few months ago, according to his former neighbor.
Four days ago, he posted pictures of two rifles he allegedly bought just after his eighteenth birthday. Police say he shot his grandmother, who was hospitalized in San Antonio, on Tuesday before going to Robb School.