UVALDE, Texas – There were glimmering candles and prayers well into Thursday morning in Uvalde, Texas. The city west of the U.S.-Mexico border was home to the country’s latest school massacre involving an AR-15 rifle.
A group of women said they traveled from Dallas to deliver flowers outside of Robb Elementary School. The community was preparing for the funerals of two teachers and 19 fourth-grade students.
A family in anguish about an injured 66-year-old grandmother was also struggling to understand what motivated a young man to commit such evil acts about a week after celebrating his 18th birthday.
Uvalde residents gather Wednesday at the Uvalde County Fairplex to pray after 19 children and two adults were killed during a school shooting the day before. (Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune)
Timeline
Earlier this year, Salvador Ramos got into a fight with his mother and moved in with his grandparents. He turned 18 on May 16.
A day later, he walked into Oasis Outback and legally purchased a rifle. He also purchased 375 rounds of 5.56 ammunition on May 18 and another rifle on May 20.
Two family members of one of the victims killed in Tuesday's shooting at Robb Elementary School comfort each other during a prayer vigil in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Ramos was a quiet loner. His grandfather Rolando Reyes told ABC News he had stopped going to Uvalde High School. He had also lost his job at Wendy’s.
Ramos was communicating regularly with a 15-year-old girl from Frankfurt, Germany, and he used Instagram and Facebook on May 24.
Salvador Ramos was identified as the 18-year-old shooter at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday in Texas. (.)
That day, he shot his grandmother, Celia Martinez, in the head and stole her pickup truck. Ramos crashed into a ditch outside of Robb Elementary School.
He was wearing body armor and was holding his rifle — manufactured by Daniel Defense — when he walked into the school shortly after 11:30 a.m.
Ramos barricaded himself in a fourth-grade classroom. Officers broke into the classroom and fatally shot him at about 1:05 p.m.
Victims
While in the school, Ramos killed two teachers, Eva Mireles and Irma Garcia, and 19 of their students.
Here is the list of the children:
Nevaeh Bravo, 10, was among the students who were shot and killed during a violent massacre at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. (Copyright 2022 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)
This undated handout photo provided by Siria Arizmendi shows her niece, Eliahna Garca, 10. Garca is among those killed in Tuesday, May 24, 2022, shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. (Siria Arizmendi via AP)
This March 2022 photo provided by Manny Renfro shows his grandson, Uziyah Garcia, while on spring break in San Angelo, Texas. The 8-year-old was among those killed in Tuesday's shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24 in Uvalde, Texas. (Manny Renfro via AP) (Manny Renfro)
10-year-old Makenna Lee Elrod who was killed in Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde (Copyright 2022 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)
Jaliah Nicole Silguero, 10, died in the Texas elementary school shooting (Silguero family)
Jailah Nicole Silguero
Rojelio Torres, 10, was killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022. (Torres family)
Rojelio Torres
Complete coverage
Diego Esquivel, left, and Linda Klaasson comfort each other as they gather to honor the victims killed in Tuesday's shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
A state trooper escorts a group of family onto the campus of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Desperation turned to heart-wrenching sorrow for families of grade schoolers killed after an 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself in their Texas classroom and began shooting, killing at least 19 fourth-graders and their two teachers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
Two Texas Troopers light a candle at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Wednesday, May 25, 2022. Desperation turned to heart-wrenching sorrow for families of grade schoolers killed after an 18-year-old gunman barricaded himself in their Texas classroom and began shooting, killing several fourth-graders and their teachers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
People mourn outside of the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. (Getty Images)
People become emotional at the City of Uvalde Town Square during a prayer vigil in the wake of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. According to reports, 19 students and 2 adults were killed before the gunman was fatally shot by law enforcement. (Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
People react outside the Civic Center following a deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas Tuesday, May 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills) (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)
People react outside the Ssgt. Willie de Leon Civic Center in Uvalde, where students were transported from Robb Elementary School after a mass shooting on May 24, 2022. (Reuters/Marco Bello)
A family grieves outside of the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. According to reports, 19 students and 2 adults were killed, with the gunman fatally shot by law enforcement. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
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Bridgette Matter joined the Local 10 News team as a reporter in July 2021. Before moving to South Florida, she began her career in South Bend, Indiana and spent six years in Jacksonville as a reporter and weekend anchor.
The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.
