The day after his 18th birthday, on May 17, Salvador Ramos gave himself an AK-15 rifle, a civilian version of a military assault rifle designed to kill as many people as possible in record time. Three days later, he would get another copy and 375 rounds of ammunition. All bought legally from a nearby gun store. He boasted of his weapons and warned of his plans in the networks: "Children, be careful."
Despite publishing these messages, no one in his family says that they detected any indication that the boy wanted or had weapons, much less what he was willing to do. Shooting his grandmother, with whom he had been living for a while, in the face, and then barricading Robb Elementary School to kill 19 children, two teachers and injure 17 people with one of the rifles he had bought . The other stayed in his grandmother's black pick-up, which had crashed seconds before in front of the school. He didn't have a driver's license.
Her mother, her boyfriend and her grandfather agree with the versions that some of their acquaintances have given about Ramos's withdrawn character. In several interviews with the media, everyone assures that the boy sought to isolate himself and that it was difficult to have a conversation with him. But they did not know that he had weapons or wanted to use them. As his grandfather, Rolando Reyes, has said, in front of the house where he lived with the young man and his grandmother, to an ABC News reporter.
Ramos was a quiet boy who spent most of his time locked in his room. He slept on a mattress on the floor. Sometimes they spent time together, but they hardly ever had conversations. "If I had found out that he had weapons, I would have notified the police," said the grandfather, who has a criminal record and is therefore prohibited from being near weapons. Also, he says that he hates guns. He had no idea his grandson planned to use them or was having a hard time.
However, regarding violence, the family differs from the comments of his friends and acquaintances (who define him as a somewhat troublesome boy, who had expressed the desire to kill people on some occasions). Nor have they commented on whether Ramos was bullied for his speech problems, as a former friend of his said, or on the videos that circulate of him fighting with other boys.
A neighbor says that mother and son argued often and aggressively. His grandfather admits that the boy came to live with them because he had "some problems" with his mother. But the parent, Adriana Reyes, 39, has assured the Daily Mail that her son "was not a violent person." The father has several records for minor crimes but with recidivism, according to the same newspaper. He lives nearby, but her relationship with the boy is unknown.
Reyes's boyfriend, Juan Álvarez, 62, has added on NBC News that the strong argument that mother and son had two months ago revolved around the prohibition of using Wi-Fi. According to the grandfather, the arguments at home were mostly about the fact that the boy did not graduate from high school that year, as he was supposed to, because he stopped attending class. In fact, his classmates had graduated the day before Ramos perpetrated the massacre.
"He was a weird guy. I never got along with him. I never socialized with him. He didn't talk to anyone," Álvarez explained to various media. "When you try to talk to him, he just sits down and leaves," added Álvarez, who has been in a relationship with his mother for just over a year. He says that while he was on his own a lot recently, he was "surprised" at what he had done in Uvalde.
