The uncle of the teenage gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers in the Uvalde school shooting begged police to let him try to talk his nephew down, according to a new trove of transcripts and recordings released by the city.
Armando Ramos, an uncle of shooter Salvador Ramos, 18, told police that his nephew always listened to him and that if he could talk to him he might be able to convince him to stop shooting, a 911 call released Saturday revealed.
“Maybe he could listen to me because he does listen to me, everything I tell him he does listen to me,” Ramos explained to dispatchers.
“Maybe he could stand down or do something to turn himself in,” he added, his voice cracking.
The uncle told the dispatcher that the shooter was with him at his house the night before. He said his nephew stayed with him in his room all night, and mentioned that he was upset because his grandmother was “bugging” him.
“Oh my god, please, please don’t do nothing stupid. I think he’s shooting kids,” Ramos panicked on the call.
The call came in about 1 p.m. on May 24, 2022 – 10 minutes after the shooting stopped and Ramos was already dead.
Phone calls and police videos from the May 24, 2022, Robb Elementary School massacre were released this weekend by Uvalde city officials following a prolonged legal battle.
The records were released in response to a lawsuit filed by The Associated Press and other news outlets after city officials refused to release documents related to the shooting.
The law enforcement response to the scene – during which nearly 400 officers waited over 70 minutes before confronting the gunman – has been widely condemned as a massive tactical and moral failure.
The law enforcement team including nearly 150 US Border Patrol agents and 91 state police officers, as well as school and city police, waited in the hallway while desperate students inside the classroom called 911 on cell phones and parents outside begged the cops to intervene.
A damning video from the scene showed police officers lingering in the hallway – some equipped with rifles and bulletproof shields – while the gunman was inside the classroom, targeting the kids and teachers.
A tactical team finally entered the room and fatally shot Salvador Ramos by about 12:50 p.m..
Former Uvalde school Police Chief Pete Arredonda and former school officer Adrian Gonzales have both pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges of child abandonment and endangerment in connection with one of the worst school shootings in US history.
In an interview with CNN this week, Arredondo claimed he had been “scapegoated” for the botched response.
A Texas state trooper from Uvalde who was suspended over the controversy was reinstated this month.
Despite the massive outcry, a report commissioned by the city commended the officers for “immeasurable strength” and “level-headed thinking” as they confronted the shooter.
The parents of the victims cried and slammed the city officials as “cowards” when they heard the results of the report in March.
“You said they did it in good faith. You call that good faith? They stood there 77 minutes,” said Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was killed by the gunman, after the presentation.
Parents of the victims have also called for more officers to be charged, and filed federal and state lawsuits against law enforcement, social media, online gaming companies, and the gun manufacturer behind the rifle the shooter used.
With Post wires
