A teen girl from Germany has been left to wonder whether she could have saved those killed by Salvador Ramos, who provided her several updates in the days and hours before he slaughtered 21 people inside Robb Elementary School in Texas.
The 15-year-old, identified only by her nickname, Cece, told the New York Times she connected with Ramos just more than two weeks ago on Yubo, an app that allows strangers all over the world to livestream with one another. They had several conversations through the platform and on social media, with topics ranging from his difficult family life to his intention to carry out a massacre.
“Maybe I could’ve changed the outcome,” she said, despite the thousands of miles separating her from the gun violence. “I just could never guess that he’d actually do this.”
Cece recalled that Ramos turned 18 on May 16, the first day he was legally allowed to purchase a firearm in the state of Texas, and that he video called her from inside a gun store around that time. He told her he planned on buying an AR-15 rifle.
In the days that followed, the 18-year-old hinted at using his new weapon, but did not go into specifics, she told the Times.
Less than 24 hours before the shooting in Uvalde County, Ramos allegedly sent Cece photos of a package he claimed contained ammunition designed to burst on impact. She said she also received pictures of a black bag holding what appeared to be several magazines of ammunition and at least one gun.
Ramos again video called her the following morning around 10 a.m. He was sporting all black, she recalled, and told her he had a secret to share once his grandfather left their home. About an hour later he wrote that he was also “waiting for” his grandmother, who he said was “on the phone with AT&T” about his cell phone.
“Ima do something to her rn,” he wrote, using a vulgar expletive to describe her.
Cece did not respond, according to screengrabs verified by the New York Times.
“I just shot my grandma in her head,” Ramos said in a message sent on Tuesday around 11:20 a.m.
That text was immediately followed with another: “Ima go shoot up a elementary school rn.”
Cece again remained silent, telling the Times she was “curious” as to whether he was serious, noting she did not believe he was capable of carrying out the attack.
Less than 30 minutes later though, Ramos allegedly entered Robb Elementary School, armed and wearing a tactical style vest, shortly after shooting his grandmother inside her home. Police said he then barricaded himself inside a classroom and opened fire, fatally striking two teachers and 19 students, all of them ages 10 and under.
Ramos’ grandmother remained in critical condition on Thursday.
When Cece started seeing news of the massacre at the primary school in Uvalde, she said it was only then that she understood the gravity of the situation. It prompted her to reach out to another friend she met through Yubo, who was able to connect her with authorities in the United States.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said during a recent press conference that Ramos revealed on Facebook that he had shot his grandmother and that he planned on killing people at an elementary school. A spokesman for the social media platform said Abbott was mistaken, and that he was referring to what the company called private messages.
It’s not clear whether Cece’s messages are among those to which Abbott referred.
Yubo said in a statement to Insider that it was devastated by news of the shooting and that is has banned at least one account since the violence. Several other people, from California to Greece, have said they spoke with Ramos on the app.
“We are deeply saddened by this unspeakable loss and are fully cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation,” the spokesperson for Yubo said. “At this stage, we are not legally able to release any specific user information outside of direct requests from law enforcement, but can confirm that we are investigating an account that has since been banned from the platform.”
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