Cousin of Uvalde mass shooter arrested for ‘threatening to do the same thing’ in San Antonio

Police on Monday arrested the 17-year-old cousin of Uvalde mass shooter Salvador Ramos on allegations the San Antonio teen was “threatening to do the same thing” as his relative, KSAT reports.

Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers during the May 2022 school shooting at Robb Elementary School that seized global headlines and rekindled the national debate on gun reform.

Citing arrest the arrest warrant, KSAT reports that a family member of recently arrested suspect  Nathan Cruz said they live across the street from a San Antonio elementary school and that he told a different family member “school is starting soon.” The document didn’t disclose the name of that school.

The family member who called SAPD also told authorities she heard Cruz on a phone call with an unidentified person during which the teen tried to illegally buy an AR-15 rifle, the station reports, again citing the arrest report.

Cruz faces charges of making a terroristic threat to the public and of making a terroristic threat to a family member, according to KSAT. No bond had been set as of Monday.

Democratic Texas Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a vocal gun reform advocate whose district includes Uvalde, said in a press release he’s glad authorities thwarted a potential tragedy. However, he added that red flag laws opposed by Texas Republicans are necessary to prevent dangerous people from obtaining firearms.

“Red flag laws work to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and provide more tools for law enforcement to do their job,” said Gutierrez, who’s now running to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, an anti-gun control hardliner. “Our system is broken in Texas, but it shouldn’t have to be that way. We shouldn’t have to fight this hard to do the right thing for our kids. Our kids shouldn’t be terrified and having panic attacks about going back to school.”

Some Texas campuses, including those of Southside Independent School District, have installed metal detectors since the tragedy in Uvalde. More than 25,000 people have died from gun violence in the U.S. this year as of Aug. 1, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

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This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 8, 2023.