The Texas school shooter that was responsible for killing 21 people including 19 students and two teachers sent disturbing messages to an unknown woman before carrying out the massacre. Salvador Ramos, 18, was shot dead by authorities at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas after beginning his killing spree.
Prior to this, he shot his own grandmother. Even before the events took place, he was in contact with a woman who he never met in person. An Instagram account that was linked to Ramos contained disturbing photos and messages.
One of the photos was a high-capacity magazine that was used in the attack. Ramos apparently messaged the woman on May 12 asking ‘You gonna repost my gun pic?’ The woman was also tagged in the posts.
The woman continued to message Ramos, not knowing who he was personally. She replied asking what the guns had to do with her. The reply was ‘I just wanted to tag you’.
Whatever the motive was, it’s disturbing for someone to say they wanted to tag a person in a post about guns for no reason. Having a common hobby such as the outdoors is one thing (and tagging each other in posts is normal). It seemed like Ramos was looking for some kind of validation from a woman he never even met face to face.
As of this writing, the death toll stands at 21, and there is no certainty if it will stay the same. Yet, the fact remains that it is a tragedy beyond anyone’s comprehension. As expected, people on both sides of the gun issue began to reinforce their positions on what they believed in.
On one end, you have people wanting guns to be banned, the Second Amendment to be done away with, and everything else. They seem like they want the gun violence to end now rather than later.
On the other side, you have the argument of arming teachers, increasing security, and more. No matter where you stand on the issue, it will be really hard to come up with a concrete solution that will prevent tragedies like this. This tragedy occurred just over a week after 10 people were killed in a grocery store in Buffalo by a shooter that was the same age.
With the gun issue debate quickly heating up once again, what will come out of it this time around?
