A 17-year-old cousin of the gunman liable for the lethal faculty capturing in Uvalde, Texas, was arrested after his mom reported that he was attempting to purchase a gun and “do the same thing,” the authorities stated on Monday.
The cousin, recognized as Nathan James Cruz, 17, was taken into custody on Monday morning and charged with making threats to a public place and a member of the family, stated Sgt. Washington Moscoso of the San Antonio Police Department.
Mr. Cruz’s mom notified the authorities after studying that her son had made statements that apprehensive her, together with that he would “shoot the school,” and that “school is starting soon,” in line with an affidavit filed with the arrest warrant. Detectives later decided that the threats have been critical sufficient to benefit an arrest.
The affidavit stated Mr. Cruz’s mom contacted the police after her daughter informed her that Mr. Cruz stated he was planning “to do the same thing” as his cousin, Salvador Ramos. Mr. Ramos, an 18-year-old Uvalde resident, fatally shot 19 college students and two academics at Robb Elementary School with an AR-15-style weapon in 2022.
“She called the police because she was concerned of what her son was going to do,” Sergeant Moscoso stated. The suspect’s mom and sister each made recorded statements at headquarters to a detective, the authorities stated.
“God knows what could have happened,” he added. “Because she did the right thing, this individual has been arrested.”
He stated investigators have been in a position to verify that Mr. Cruz is the cousin of Mr. Ramos, who was killed by regulation enforcement brokers at Robb Elementary within the aftermath of the assault.
According to the arrest warrant, Mr. Cruz’s mom informed that police that she was involved in regards to the threats as a result of Mr. Cruz was “intoxicated” and since “they live near an elementary school.”
The doc stated the mom additionally “overheard a phone conversation the suspect made this morning in which the suspect attempted to acquire an AR-15 through an illegal private sale.”
He had threatened to shoot his sister within the head throughout his dialog along with her, in line with the doc. “The suspect’s sister feared the suspect would act on his threat and was placed in fear of serious bodily injury or death.”
Confronted by the police, Mr. Cruz denied making “any threats,” in line with the warrant.
A lawyer for Mr. Cruz couldn’t be reached for touch upon Monday.
The arrest was not the primary related to the Uvalde gunman’s household because the tragedy. Mr. Ramos’s mom, Adriana Martinez Reyes, was arrested in January after she threatened to kill the person she was dwelling with in Oklahoma, in line with a police report.
Investigations into the capturing at Robb Elementary are ongoing, with lots of the inquiries centered on the gradual police response that led to a 73-minute delay earlier than officers confronted and killed Mr. Ramos on the faculty.
In the months since, the households of the victims have organized marches and attended metropolis and state authorities conferences to demand accountability, typically not specializing in the gunman himself. Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter, Alexandria Rubio, often known as Lexi, was killed within the capturing, introduced final month that she was working for mayor.
Kirsten Noyes contributed analysis.
Source: www.nytimes.com