Salvador Ramos: Was the Texas School Shooter an Illegal Immigrant?

On Tuesday, May 24, an 18-year-old gunman fatally shot 19 children and two fourth-grade teachers at a Texas elementary school before he was killed by law enforcement officers

The shooter, identified as Salvador Ramos, carried out the murderous rampage at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, near the Mexican border, as previously reported. The incident was the most deadly school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took place in December 2012.

Salvador Ramos
twitter

He even shot his grandmother before driving to the elementary school. Ramos is believed to have abandoned his car outside the school and entered the school grounds with a handgun and an assault rifle. He was killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent who was working nearby.

Did Ramos 'Cross the Border Illegally'?

Not long after the news broke, The Twitter handle belonging to the non-profit organization Code of Vets posted a tweet speculating that Ramos may have been an illegal immigrant.

"Pray for the victims, families and community," the tweet read. "The killer was Salvador Ramos 18 years old. Did he cross the border illegally? Our nation has a serious national security crisis evolving. God help us."

Fact-Check

There is no evidence to support the claim that Ramos was an undocumented immigrant and fact-checking website Snopes has confirmed this as well. As of publishing, details about the shooter are scarce, butHouston-based TV news station KPRC-TV, citing unnamed officials, reported that Ramos was "apparently from the town of Uvalde, which is 85 miles west of San Antonio, and that he was born on May 16, 2004."

Salvador Ramos
Salvador Ramos Twitter

ABC News also reported that Ramos was a student at Uvalde High School, while WSLS 10 further noted that Ramos had reportedly attended Robb Elementary in his youth, as well.

In an interview, Texas State Senator Roland Gutierrez also said that Ramos, was born in North Dakota before moving to Uvalde. He also noted that the teenager went to high school in Uvalde, as reported by KFYR-TV. We are trying to independently confirm this information and will update the story as we learn more.

This article was first published on May 25, 2022
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