A classmate of the man who slaughtered 19 elementary school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, says the perpetrator was not a good person.
Ivan Arellano, a high school senior, said he was classmates with the shooter, Salvador Ramos.
In a short interview with ABC affiliate WFAA published on May 25, Arellano was described by the outlet as “He knew the gunman well” and courageously made a point of setting the record to reflect what he feels is Ramos’s true nature, “Salvador Ramos was a boy who was not bullied,” he said. “He would try to pick on people, but fail, and it would aggravate him.”
“I would like to get that out of the way,” Arellano continued. “He was not bullied.”
Arellano added, “He, prior, and I don’t see this covered, and I’m going to put this out there. He would hurt animals. He was not a good person.”
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A May 25 article by The Washington Post claimed that Ramos was “a lonely 18-year-old who was bullied over a childhood speech impediment, suffered from a fraught home life and lashed out violently against peers and strangers recently and over the years,” based on what “friends and relatives said.”
Although Arellano’s statements can only be counted as an opinion, the actions of Ramos speak for themself.
Before the massacre at Robb Elementary occured, according to May 26 reporting by the Wall Street Journal, “Ramos shot his grandmother Tuesday morning and drove her truck to Robb Elementary School, crashing the vehicle into a nearby ditch at 11:28 a.m.”
Not only did Ramos attack his own grandmother, but upon arriving near Robb Elementary’s premises, he spent his first 12 minutes outside shooting at people at a funeral home across the street.
By 11:40, Ramos had entered the school. By 11:44, some police arrived on the scene and exchanged shots with Ramos, who then barricaded himself in a room with fourth graders, where the massacre then began.
According to the article, law enforcement were apparently unwilling to risk their lives to intervene.
“Ms. Gomez, a farm supervisor, was also waiting outside for her children. She said she was one of numerous parents who began encouraging—first politely, and then with more urgency—police and other law enforcement to enter the school sooner,” the article stated.
“After a few minutes, she said, U.S. Marshals put her in handcuffs, telling her she was being arrested for intervening in an active investigation.”
One 77-year-old and his wife who live across the street from the school were paraphrased as stating they were “confused why the police who arrived didn’t immediately enter.”
The man said he believed “They are trying to cover something up…I think the cops were waiting for backup because they didn’t want to go into the school.”
Instead, it was actually U.S. Border Patrol agents that ended the calamity.
An hour later, around 12:40, members of the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, also known as Bortac, managed to besiege and eliminate Ramos, noted a second WSJ article.
“Initially, the Bortac agents couldn’t get into the classroom where shooter Salvador Ramos locked himself because of a steel door and cinder block construction, according to law-enforcement officials familiar with what happened,” stated the article.
“Meanwhile, the 18 year-old gunman shot at them and other officers through the door and walls.”
WSJ said the agents obtained a master key to the room from the principal, and upon entering, “One Bortac agent took rounds to their shield upon entering and a second was wounded by shrapnel. A third killed the suspect.”
