Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of a mass shooting. Reader discretion is advised.
77 Minutes: Surviving the Uvalde Mass Shooting looks into the Robb Elementary shooting incident from 2022 in Texas. The alleged shooter, Salvador Ramos, was an 18-year-old local high school student, reported CNN. Ramos legally bought two assault rifles and ammunition in the days after turning 18 and committed one of the most horrific mass shootings.
Ramos carried out the Robb Elementary mass shooting shortly after 11:30 a.m. on May 24, 2022, just two days before the summer break. He reportedly fired hundreds of rounds within minutes. In the incident, 19 children, as well as two teachers, were fatally shot. Afterward, the suspect then barricaded himself in a classroom and an adjoining classroom. About an hour later, a tactical team entered the classroom and fatally shot the suspect.
Fox News reported that authorities confirmed Salvador Ramos did not have a criminal record or any history of mental illness. However, some of his classmates told ABC News that the teen often fought and threatened his fellow students. He also allegedly showed odd behavior and claimed to have cut scars on his face. NPR further stated that investigators learned Ramos was an isolated individual. He allegedly became obsessed with school shootings after a troubled life at home and in school for years.
What happened to Robb Elementary shooting suspect Salvador Ramos?
On the day of the Robb Elementary shooting, Salvador Ramos’ crime spree began at home. Shortly after 11 a.m. on May 24, 2022, Ramos shot his 66-year-old grandmother in the head and fled the scene but she survived. According to CNN, Governor Greg Abbott said, “The gunman fled, and as he was fleeing had an accident just outside the elementary school.”
ABC News reported that a teacher coming out of Robb Elementary witnessed the crash and ran inside to retrieve her phone. The teacher used a rock to keep the door propped open. Ramos emerged from his vehicle, wearing a tactical vest and with a Daniel Defense AR-15-style assault rifle and a backpack. He then fired four shots at two witnesses outside a nearby funeral home but failed to hit either.
The teacher, while on a 911 call to report the crash, saw Ramos approaching the school with a gun. She tried to shut the propped-open door, but it did not lock, reported the Texas DPS as investigators determined. The shooter then walked toward the school and began shooting at the building. First, the gunman fired multiple rounds at the exterior of the school.
Then, at 11:33 a.m., he entered the school through the propped-open door and began shooting into classrooms 111 and 112. DPS Director Steven McCraw said the Robb Elementary shooting suspect fired more than 100 rounds within four minutes. Multiple Ulvade police officers also entered the school using the same door. They engaged in gunfire with the suspect, who then injured two officers. Eventually, a total of 19 officers were on the Robb Elementary shooting scene.
After multiple rounds, the alleged shooter, Salvador Ramos, barricaded himself in a classroom and an adjoining classroom. DPS spokesperson Lt. Chris Olivarez stated that the 19 children and two teachers he shot and killed were in those rooms. There were 19 officers at the Robb Elementary shooting scene, and it took a specialized tactical team nearly an hour to enter the locked classroom where Ramos was hiding to shoot him down.
CNN reported that officials said investigators found two rifles—one in the school with Ramos and one in his truck. They found 15 magazines inside the vehicle, 58 at the school, and two in his house. He legally bought the two rifles at a local federal firearms licensee on May 17 and May 20. Moreover, on May 18, he had purchased 375 rounds of ammunition.
NPR reported that Robb Elementary shooting suspect Salvador Ramos had struggled both at home and in school for years. Ramos involuntarily dropped out of Uvalde High School due to his poor attendance and academic performance. Following this, he allegedly “turned down a dark path” into a life of isolation.
A Texas House committee report said, “The attacker began to demonstrate interest in gore and violent sex.” He allegedly watched and shared gruesome videos and “images of suicides, beheadings, accidents” as well as “explicit messages to others online.” Ramos reportedly sent “over-the-top threats” online and sent “graphic descriptions of violence and rape” to women.
CNN further reported that the alleged shooter made warnings on several social media sites hours before the Robb Elementary shooting. He posted a photo of two rifles on his Instagram account. Salvador Ramos also wrote about his alleged plans on Facebook. His private messages were only discovered after the incident. In the messages, he allegedly wrote about shooting his grandmother and an elementary school.
The Robb Elementary shooting documentary 77 Minutes: Surviving the Uvalde Mass Shooting further details the heinous attack.
