The uncle of the 18-year-old shooter who killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers in the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde emotionally begged a 911 dispatcher to let him speak to his nephew as terror raged inside the classrooms. of class was still palpable.
“Maybe he could hear me because he listens to me,” pleaded the man who identified himself as Armando Ramos. “Everything I say to him, he listens to me.”
Ramos’ voice in the early afternoon of May 24, 2022 was choked with sadness and fear. But his call was too late. Police officers who waited more than an hour before confronting the shooter had already shot and killed his nephew.
The 911 call, recorded at 57 minutes and two seconds after noon that Tuesday, was part of a series of documents, audio recordings and chilling body camera footage that were released Saturday by the city of Uvalde in an agreement with the media. including the Austin American-Statesman, which went to court to compel his release.
The dispatcher who answered Ramos’ call asked for his name and address. He provided both and was told to stay on the line.
More: ‘He’s inside the school!’ Devastating 911 calls, video of Uvalde school shooting released
“Oh my God,” Ramos cries emotionally as the dispatcher tells him to “stay on the line with me” and keeps him on hold as several seconds pass.
The dispatcher asked Ramos if his nephew was with him that morning. He said no, “he was at his grandmother’s house”, but he was with him the night before.
The dispatcher asked about Ramos and whether his nephew’s behavior had changed in recent days. Ramos replied no, but said his nephew complained that his grandmother, with whom he was staying, was “bothering” him.
“She had every right to bother him,” Ramos said. “I said, ‘She has every right to bother you.'”
The attendant and Ramos were on the line for 6 minutes and 13 seconds. At one point, during one of several pauses, as if he were talking to his nephew, Ramos said, “Oh my God, please don’t do anything stupid.”
Finally, the dispatcher tells him, “OK, Armando, I’ll have an officer contact you in just a few minutes.”
He replied, “Yeah, I’m here, man.”
This article originally appeared in the Austin American-Statesman: Uvalde shooter’s uncle begs to speak to shooter in frantic 911 call
