Salvador Rolando Ramos was the shooter. (excerpts from The Washington Post)
'Using weapons purchased this month, days after his 18th birthday, authorities said, Salvador Rolando Ramos shot and critically wounded his grandmother. He then went on a shooting rampage at Robb Elementary School near his home in Uvalde, Tex., killing at least 1…
Salvador Rolando Ramos was the shooter. (excerpts from The Washington Post)
'Using weapons purchased this month, days after his 18th birthday, authorities said, Salvador Rolando Ramos shot and critically wounded his grandmother. He then went on a shooting rampage at Robb Elementary School near his home in Uvalde, Tex., killing at least 19 children and two adults and injuring others.'
'Santos Valdez Jr., 18, said he has known Ramos since early elementary school. They were friends, he said, until Ramos’s behavior started to deteriorate.'
'They used to play video games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty. But then Ramos changed. Once, Valdez said, Ramos pulled up to a park where they often played basketball and had cuts all over his face. He first said a cat had scratched his face.'
“Then he told me the truth, that he’d cut up his face with knives over and over and over,” Valdez said. “I was like, ‘You’re crazy, bro, why would you do that?’”
'Ramos said he did it for fun, Valdez recalled.'
'In middle school and junior high, Ramos was bullied for having a stutter and a strong lisp, friends and family said.'
'Stephen Garcia, who considered himself Ramos’s best friend in eighth grade, said Ramos didn’t have it easy in school. “He would get bullied hard, like bullied by a lot of people,” Garcia said. “Over social media, over gaming, over everything.”
“He was the nicest kid, the most shyest kid. He just needed to break out of his shell.”
'Two months ago, he posted an Instagram story in which he screamed at his mother, who he said was trying to kick him out of their home, said Nadia Reyes, a high school classmate.'
“He posted videos on his Instagram where the cops were there and he’d call his mom a b---- and say she wanted to kick him out,” Reyes said. “He’d be screaming and talking to his mom really aggressively.”
'Ruben Flores, 41, said he lived next door to the family on Hood Street and tried to be a kind of father figure to Ramos, who had “a pretty rough life with his mom.”
'He and his wife, Becky Flores, would invite Ramos to barbecues at their house and for sleepovers with their son, who was a few years younger. Ramos went by the nickname “pelon,” Spanish for bald, because his hair was often cut so short when he was younger, Flores said.'
'As he grew older, problems at home became more acute and more apparent to neighbors, Flores said. He described seeing police at the house and witnessing blowups between Ramos and his mother.'
'Multiple people familiar with the family, including Flores, said Ramos’s mother used drugs, which contributed to the upheaval in the home. Ramos’s mother could not be reached for comment.'
'Ramos moved from the Hood Street home to his grandmother’s home across town a few months ago, Flores said. He said he last saw the grandmother on Sunday, when she stopped by the Hood Street property, which she also owned. The grandmother told him she was in the process of evicting Ramos’s mother because of her drug problems, Flores said.'
***
Call this guy what you like. You know that if it is a 'worthless piece of shit', I won't like it. These excerpts would not be here if Salvador was all about expletives, while his life might be called abominable or execrable.
Universal health care, including mental health. Universal background checks, including mental health. 18-year-olds should not be able to buy guns or be drafted.
It sounds as though his life was the mess that produced the results that happened yesterday, that in and of itself is a tragedy, that he was allowed to slip through the cracks until he ran a mock yesterday speaks to our society and it’s failure to protect the innocent. Some gentle guidance with compassion a long time ago might very well have prevented yesterday’s horror.
Yes, guidance and compassion. He probably also really needed early placement in a good foster home then adoption, too. It does not sound like his mother was capable of any decent parenting. When I consider how hard we have had to fight in Michigan for early childhood and school age support programs in mental health, public health and social services, I can't imagine how bad it must be in Texas to get them.
This explains why he chose this elementary school, He wanted others to be in as much pain as he was suffering. Definitely a failure of our social services system.
'Oh', oh was in my mouth as I read your reply Lois. I think there was utter failure in his life and believe you are expressing that, too. It is part of the American Story. How many children in our country are living in comparable circumstances to those of Salvador?
Salvador Rolando Ramos was the shooter. (excerpts from The Washington Post)
'Using weapons purchased this month, days after his 18th birthday, authorities said, Salvador Rolando Ramos shot and critically wounded his grandmother. He then went on a shooting rampage at Robb Elementary School near his home in Uvalde, Tex., killing at least 19 children and two adults and injuring others.'
'Santos Valdez Jr., 18, said he has known Ramos since early elementary school. They were friends, he said, until Ramos’s behavior started to deteriorate.'
'They used to play video games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty. But then Ramos changed. Once, Valdez said, Ramos pulled up to a park where they often played basketball and had cuts all over his face. He first said a cat had scratched his face.'
“Then he told me the truth, that he’d cut up his face with knives over and over and over,” Valdez said. “I was like, ‘You’re crazy, bro, why would you do that?’”
'Ramos said he did it for fun, Valdez recalled.'
'In middle school and junior high, Ramos was bullied for having a stutter and a strong lisp, friends and family said.'
'Stephen Garcia, who considered himself Ramos’s best friend in eighth grade, said Ramos didn’t have it easy in school. “He would get bullied hard, like bullied by a lot of people,” Garcia said. “Over social media, over gaming, over everything.”
“He was the nicest kid, the most shyest kid. He just needed to break out of his shell.”
'Two months ago, he posted an Instagram story in which he screamed at his mother, who he said was trying to kick him out of their home, said Nadia Reyes, a high school classmate.'
“He posted videos on his Instagram where the cops were there and he’d call his mom a b---- and say she wanted to kick him out,” Reyes said. “He’d be screaming and talking to his mom really aggressively.”
'Ruben Flores, 41, said he lived next door to the family on Hood Street and tried to be a kind of father figure to Ramos, who had “a pretty rough life with his mom.”
'He and his wife, Becky Flores, would invite Ramos to barbecues at their house and for sleepovers with their son, who was a few years younger. Ramos went by the nickname “pelon,” Spanish for bald, because his hair was often cut so short when he was younger, Flores said.'
'As he grew older, problems at home became more acute and more apparent to neighbors, Flores said. He described seeing police at the house and witnessing blowups between Ramos and his mother.'
'Multiple people familiar with the family, including Flores, said Ramos’s mother used drugs, which contributed to the upheaval in the home. Ramos’s mother could not be reached for comment.'
'Ramos moved from the Hood Street home to his grandmother’s home across town a few months ago, Flores said. He said he last saw the grandmother on Sunday, when she stopped by the Hood Street property, which she also owned. The grandmother told him she was in the process of evicting Ramos’s mother because of her drug problems, Flores said.'
***
Call this guy what you like. You know that if it is a 'worthless piece of shit', I won't like it. These excerpts would not be here if Salvador was all about expletives, while his life might be called abominable or execrable.
I cannot pin my rage on Salvador.
We know who our enemies are.
The link to the article below is gifted.
https://wapo.st/3sWOqKq
Universal health care, including mental health. Universal background checks, including mental health. 18-year-olds should not be able to buy guns or be drafted.
It sounds as though his life was the mess that produced the results that happened yesterday, that in and of itself is a tragedy, that he was allowed to slip through the cracks until he ran a mock yesterday speaks to our society and it’s failure to protect the innocent. Some gentle guidance with compassion a long time ago might very well have prevented yesterday’s horror.
Yes, guidance and compassion. He probably also really needed early placement in a good foster home then adoption, too. It does not sound like his mother was capable of any decent parenting. When I consider how hard we have had to fight in Michigan for early childhood and school age support programs in mental health, public health and social services, I can't imagine how bad it must be in Texas to get them.
Dick, My imagining of Salvador's life from birth -- we have enough to think about without that.
This explains why he chose this elementary school, He wanted others to be in as much pain as he was suffering. Definitely a failure of our social services system.
'Oh', oh was in my mouth as I read your reply Lois. I think there was utter failure in his life and believe you are expressing that, too. It is part of the American Story. How many children in our country are living in comparable circumstances to those of Salvador?