In the wake of Tuesday's mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which led to the deaths of 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School, more details are beginning to emerge about the shooting suspect.
Salvador Ramos, 18, allegedly opened fire on a single classroom at Robb Elementary.
An unidentified friend of Ramos told CNN, "People would, like, actually call him 'school shooter' and stuff like that."
Santos Valdez Jr., 18, told the Washington Post he remained friends with Ramos, until Salvador once showed up to a local basketball court in the park, and remarked that he made cuts to his own face "for fun."
"In middle school and junior high, Ramos was bullied for having a stutter and a strong lisp," reported the Post, when speaking to someone who knew Salvador well.
"He would get bullied hard, like bullied by a lot of people. Over social media, over gaming, over everything," says Stephen Garcia, who identified himself to the Post as Ramos' best friend in eighth grade.
Over time, Ramos eventually dropped out of school.
A passage from the Post, regarding Ramos sheds light on his social climate: "[High school classmate Nadia] Reyes said she could recall about five times that Ramos had fistfights with peers in middle school and junior high. His friendships were short-lived, she said. Once, Ramos commented to a friend while playing basketball that [he] only wanted to join the Marines one day so he could kill people, Reyes said. The other boy, she added, ended the friendship on the spot."
Citing the Post report, Ramos had a rough social life and was known to local police.
Ramos' home upbringing was also tough, reportedly dealing with a mother who used drugs.
For one reported incident, Ramos' mother tried kicking her son out of the house, causing Ramos to scream at her.
"[He] posted videos on his Instagram where the cops were there and he'd call his mom a b***h and say she wanted to kick him out," Reyes told the Post. "He'd be screaming and talking to his mom really aggressively."
Ruben Flores, a neighbor, also confirmed seeing police outside their house.
Ramos moved to his grandmother's house just a few months ago, Flores told the Post.
According to the Daily Mail, Ramos used an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle, which he had legally purchased just days before Tuesday's attack, and shortly after his 18th birthday.
During Tuesday's shooting, a border patrol agent reportedly rushed into the school and found Ramos barricaded, according to a sourced report from The Associated Press.
The agent then fatally shot Ramos before exiting the school, citing the AP report.
At a press conference Wednesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Ramos made three Facebook posts before the shooting, but a Meta spokesman later clarified that he had sent the chilling final words in private Facebook messages — which are not visible to the public.
Roughly 30 minutes before the Robb Elementary shooting, Ramos initially wrote he was planning to shoot his grandmother. The pair reportedly had a loud argument earlier Tuesday.
"The third post, maybe less than 15 minutes before arriving at the school, was, 'I'm going to shoot an elementary school,'" said Abbott.
The grandmother is reportedly hospitalized and in critical condition.
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