The mother of Texas gunman Salvador Ramos has broken her silence following the school attack that killed 19 students and two teachers and says that her son “wasn’t a violent person.”
Adriana Reyes told DailyMail.com that she was “surprised” the 18-year-old had gone on a rampage and massacred 21 people at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
Ms Reyes, 39, spoke out from the hospital bedside of 66-year-old Celia Gonzalez, who was shot in the face by her grandson before he committed one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.
“My son wasn’t a violent person. I’m surprised by what he did,” she told the news outlet from a San Antonio hospital.
“I pray for those families. I’m praying for all of those innocent children, yes I am. They (the children) had no part in this.”
Ms Reyes says the last time she saw her son was last Monday, on his birthday, where she gave him a stuffed Snoopy toy and card.
She also denied that she and her son had a damaged relationship, eventhough he had gone to live wth his grandmother.
“I had a good relationship with him. He kept to himself; he didn’t have many friends,” she said.
Ms Reyes also told NBC News, “I’m very upset about everything. A lot of stuff has happened but right now, I don’t feel good.”
Police say that Ramos had bought two AR-15 style assault weapons for his 18th birthday from a local store. The ATF says Ramos legally bought two riles on 17 May and 20 May. One of the rifles was left in the suspect’s crashed truck, while the other, a Daniel Defense, was found with him in the school.
He bought 375 rounds of 5.56 ammunition on 18 May.
Ramos’ grandfather Rolando Reyes said the family did not know he had high-powered assault rifles at home.
“I didn’t know he had weapons,” Rolando Reyes told ABC News. “If I’d have known, I would have reported it.”
“I had an uneasy feeling sometimes, like ‘what are you up to?” she added to ABC News. “He can be aggressive... If he really got mad.”
Authorities have identified two teachers: Eva Mireles, 44, and Irma Garcia, 46, among the dead.
Amerie Jo Garza, Makenna Lee Elrod, Xavier Javier Lopez, Jose Flores, Navaeh Brown, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez and Ellie Lugo, all aged 10 are among the children who have also been identified.
