On May 24, 2022, at approximately 11:28 a.m. CDT, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, a former student of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, shot and wounded his grandmother at home before driving to the school in a truck. He then crashed the vehicle into a barricade outside the building and entered the campus with an AR‑15–style rifle and tactical vest, while abandoning a second rifle in the truck.
Ramos entered the school through an unlocked west entrance and went to a fourth-grade classroom. Behind the door, he chained it shut and opened fire, killing 19 fourth‑grade students (ages 9–11) and two teachers, before engaging officers in a 1‑hour and 14‑minute standoff during which he was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
During that time, students trapped inside repeatedly called 911 pleading for help, but more than a dozen law enforcement officers waited outside and did not enter the room. Their delay—under direction from the incident commander—was later heavily criticized as a failure in protocol and leadership.
Ramos had purchased two rifles legally shortly after turning 18 and amassed over 1,600 rounds of ammunition. Social media posts and messages revealed escalating violent threats, admission of animal abuse, and fixation on school shootings. Despite prior warning signs—including being withdrawn from high school due to absenteeism—he was able to arm himself without intervention.
The Uvalde massacre killed 21 victims and wounded over 17 others. The delayed law enforcement response and decision not to breach the classroom became the subject of criminal charges against several responding officers, major policy reviews, and national outrage.
The Robb Elementary shooting remains one of the most devastating school attacks in U.S. history. It exposed critical failures in threat detection, mental health intervention, and law enforcement procedures and sparked urgent discussion on school security and firearm access.
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