The parent of Salvador Ramoswho bears the same name as his firstborn, spoke for the first time about the shooting perpetrated by his son last Tuesday, May 24, when he entered the robb elementary school, and Uvalde (Texas). There, 21 people lost their lives, including 19 children, 2 teachers and, in addition, the murderer himself, who was killed by the Police.
“I just want people to know that I’m sorry, man, for what my son did (…) He should have killed me, you know, instead of doing something like that to someone,” said Ramos, 42, in a interview with The Daily Beast.
YOU CAN SEE: Salvador Ramos: what is known so far about the author of the massacre in Texas that left 21 dead
Her son, also named Salvador, went to school after shooting his grandmother in the face. The 18-year-old crashed his vehicle outside the educational center, entered and opened fire on one of the fourth grade classes while laughing uncontrollably, according to survivors.
Was the deadliest school shooting in the United States in almost a decade.
Ramos said in the interview that he found out about the shooting after his mother called him to tell him about it. In a panic, he contacted the local jail to find out if his son was there, only to discover that he was no longer alive. “They killed my baby,” he said.
YOU CAN SEE: Shooting in Texas: Salvador Ramos’ mother says “he was not a monster”
He added: “I will never see my son again, just like they will not see their children. And that hurts me”.
Despite the gruesome massacre he carried out, Ramos insisted his son was “a good person” who “was true to himself.” He claimed to have no idea why his son became so violent or why he chose to attack the school.
However, he says that if he had noticed some changes in his first-born: he bought a couple of boxing gloves and began practicing in a local park. “I told him, ‘Mijo, one day someone is going to kick your ass,’” Ramos recalled.
YOU CAN SEE: Shooting in Texas: Salvador Ramos sent a chilling message to a young woman prior to the massacre
He also says that he did not spend much time with his son because he works outside of Uvalde and because of the pandemic. His own mother was suffering from cancer and he could not risk being exposed to the coronavirus.
He added that his son became frustrated with the precautions for the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19, about a month ago, and refused to talk to him. “My mom tells me he probably would have shot me too, because she always said she didn’t love him,” she added.
YOU CAN SEE: School shooting in Texas: the faces of the tragedy in Uvalde
The father has an extensive criminal history, including a conviction for assault and bodily harm. He also points out that his other daughter, the shooter’s sister, joined the Navy and distanced herself from him. “My daughter, I guess, she changed her life, she went to the Navy,” he said. “I wish my son had gone and changed his life.”
Ramos mentioned that his son had a girlfriend in Saint Anthony, whom he and his family had been to visit, but made no further comment on the teen’s social life. “I don’t want them to call him a monster (…) they don’t know anything about what he was going through,” he concluded.
YOU CAN SEE: Shooting in Texas: massacre author announced on Facebook that he was going to attack an elementary school
Texas, the sanctuary of weapons
Located in a rural area an hour’s drive from the border with MexicoUvalde is represented at the federal level by a conservative congressman who is adamantly opposed to greater gun control and in the Congress by two legislators who have conflicting positions on the issue.
At the door of a church, Efrain Nevarez, a retired Border Patrol agent, is unbending in his opposition to any new measure restricting gun ownership, even though he knows several people who have lost children in Tuesday’s massacre.
YOU CAN SEE: Survivor said that the murderer laughed during a shooting in Texas: “The laugh of the devil”
Salvador Ramos’ mother says her son was not a monster
Meanwhile, in an interview for ABC News, Salvador Ramos’ mother, Adriana Reyes, clarified that her son was not a monster, but he could become aggressive.
“I had an uncomfortable feeling at times,” the mother told the media’s correspondent, Matt Gutman, in an interview at her home. “He could be aggressive, if he really got mad,” she continued.