The teenager who opened fire on Tuesday in an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, killing at least 18 children and an adult, had just shot his grandmother in this small town west of San Antonio, according to the authorities who ignore his motives.
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Identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, the young man is believed to be an American citizen and was a student at Uvalde High School, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, without specifying whether he had graduated this year.
A mugshot circulated in local media shows a young man with shoulder-length brown hair, his face pale and expressionless.
Before perpetrating this killing, he would have “shot his grandmother”, continued Mr. Abbott, emphasizing that he did not know the links between the two events.
According to a local elected official, this woman was transported to a hospital in San Antonio. University Health Hospital in San Antonio confirmed it admitted a 66-year-old woman in “critical condition” after the shooting, without confirming her identity.
Then, equipped with a bulletproof vest and a rifle, according to Sergeant Erick Estrada of the Texas Department of Security, he fled in a car which he abandoned near Robb Elementary School after having a “spectacular accident”.
Around 11:30 a.m., found by the police, he rushed inside the school and opened fire in several classrooms, Sergeant Estrada told CNN.
End of the year
For the students, aged ten or less, and the teachers of this school of 500 students, mostly Hispanic, the end of the year was set for Thursday.
The police officer clarified that no car chases had been reported by local law enforcement, appearing to suggest that the traffic accident was unprovoked.
He was killed in a firefight with law enforcement. Two police officers also suffered minor injuries, Governor Abbott said.
According to Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde School District Police Chief in charge of the investigation, he acted alone.
Investigators are trying to obtain “detailed information about the profile” of the young killer, “his motives, the type of weapons used and whether he had the legal authority to possess them,” Governor Abbott said.
Sergeant Erick Estrada said he did not know if he was known to the police.
On social networks, he is associated with an Instagram account, deleted after the killings, which contains several photos: two black and white self-portraits where he appears wearing a hooded jacket, hair up to the nape of his neck, and the photo of a rifle magazine. On another shot, we also see two semi-automatic rifles.
