On May 24, Salvador Ramos shot his maternal grandmother at her home. He crashed his car into a ditch near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, as he fled the scene. Wearing a tactical vest, he entered the school with an assault rifle in hand and deadly intentions. Salvador never made it out. Law enforcement shot and killed him, but not before he took the lives of 19 students and two educators. Days later, his mother, Adriana Martínez, and his father, also named Salvador Ramos, are speaking out.
Mother Of Salvador Ramos Asks For Forgiveness Rather Than Judgement
Adriana expressed confusion and lack of words for her son’s actions in an interview with CNN affiliate Televisa. While sitting inside a vehicle, Adriana answered questions about the mass shooting.
“I have no words, I have no words to say,” Adriana said. “I don’t know what he was thinking. He had his reasons for doing what he did and please don’t judge him. I only want the innocent children who died to forgive me.”
When asked “what do you tell their families,” Adriana wept, shook her head, and replied, “forgive me, forgive my son.” She added, “I know he had his reasons.” The interviewer then asked, “what reasons could he have had?” Adriana paused, shook her head, and said, “to get closer to those children instead of paying attention to the other bad things. I have no words, I don’t know.”
Father Of Texas School Shooter Says Son Was “A Good Person”
Salvador Ramos, the father of the deceased gunman, both apologized for his son’s actions and defended his “good” character.
“I just want the people to know I’m sorry man, [for] what my son did,” Salvador said.”
His words appeared in an exclusive report by The Daily Beast, which met with the father for an interview on Thursday. Like Adriana, Salvador seemed to express shock at the massacre carried out by their son.
“I never expected my son to do something like that. He should’ve just killed me, you know, instead of doing something like that to someone.”
To be clear, the 18-year-old’s mass shooting didn’t just affect someone, but a community of people, who are now mourning 21 lost lives. In a span of three days, between May 17 and May 20, Salvador purchased two AR platform rifles and 375 rounds of ammunition, according to CNN. He used at least one of the weapons and some ammo to carry out what’s now categorized as the deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook.
Parents Offer No New Leads For The Shooter’s Motive
Apparently, Salvador learned of his son’s crimes via a phone call from his mother. At the time, he revealed his first move was calling the local jail, asking for his son. Later, he realized law enforcement had “killed [his] baby.”
“I’m never going to see my son again, just like they’re not gonna see their kids,” Salvador said. “And that hurts me.”
The father, like the mother, offered no new details about the motive authorities are still trying to piece together. Still, he insisted his son was “a good person” and someone who “stuck to himself,” per Daily Beast.
During his interview, Salvador also pointed the finger at Adriana, saying she didn’t buy their son enough school clothes and supplies. The father claimed their son was “bullied” for wearing the same jeans daily. This alleged bullying, reported by The Washington Post, led to Salvador dropping out prior to his high school graduation, per his father.
Salvador’s Bullied History Confirmed By Family & Friends
Additional family and friends have said Salvador was bullied for a stutter and lisp. Stephen Garcia, who identified himself as Salvador’s best friend in eighth grade, said he would “get bullied hard.”
But, some of Salvador’s other classmates offered different narratives about the shooter. One former classmate named Nadia Reyes told The Washington Post about videos posted to Instagram where Salvador aggressively spoke and screamed at his mother, even calling her a b***h.
“I don’t think he was necessarily bullied,” Nadia said. “He would take things too far, say something that shouldn’t be said, and then he would go into defense mode about it.”
One day before the shooting, Nadia and other seniors from Uvalde High School visited Robb Elementary. The visit was part of a community tradition, where the graduating seniors visited the elementary school in their graduation wear and their younger peers.
“Those kids were so excited to see us in our cap and gown,” Nadia shared. “They’re looking at us like, ‘I’m gonna be there one day.’ It’s surreal like we’re in a movie. It’s horrible.”
Seniors visit Robb Elementary @Uvalde_CISD pic.twitter.com/EVI0IyLanx
— rharris (@UHSProud) May 23, 2022
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