Southwest
Uvalde school shooter’s uncle tried to intervene, but his call came 10 minutes after gunman was dead
As shots rang out in the hallways and classrooms of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, one of the terrified teachers who frantically dialed 911 described “a lot, a whole lot of gunshots,” while another sobbed into the phone as a dispatcher urged her to stay quiet.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!” the first teacher cried before hanging up.
UVALDE MASS SHOOTING VICTIMS’ FAMILIES SUING META, GUN MANUFACTURER AND VIDEO GAME MAKER
Those calls, along with bodycam footage and surveillance videos, were included in a massive collection of audio and video recordings released by officials of the city of Uvalde on Saturday after a prolonged legal fight. The Associated Press and other news organizations brought a lawsuit after the officials initially refused to publicly release the information from one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.
One of the first calls police received on the morning of May 24, 2022, came from a woman who called 911 to report that a pickup truck had crashed into a ditch and that the occupant had run onto the school campus.
A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center after a shooting was reported earlier in the day at Robb Elementary School, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)
“Oh my God, they have a gun,” she said.
In a 911 call a few minutes later, a man screams: “He’s shooting at the kids! Get back!”
“He’s inside the school! He’s inside the school,” he yells as the screams of others can also be heard.
“Oh my God in the name of Jesus. He’s inside the school shooting at the kids,” he says.
The delayed law enforcement response to the shooting — nearly 400 officers waited more than 70 minutes before confronting the gunman in a classroom filled with dead and wounded children and teachers — has been widely condemned as a massive failure.
The gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was fatally shot by authorities at 12:50 p.m. He had entered the school at 11:33 a.m., officials said.
Just before arriving at the school, Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother at her home. He then took a pickup from the home and drove to the school.
Ramos’ distraught uncle made several 911 calls begging to be put through so he could try to get his nephew to stop shooting.
A banner hangs at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School, the site of a May mass shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. (AP/Eric Gay)
“Maybe he could listen to me because he does listen to me, everything I tell him he does listen to me,” the man, who identified himself as Armando Ramos, said on the 911 call. “Maybe he could stand down or do something to turn himself in,” Ramos said, his voice cracking.
He said his nephew, who had been with him at his house the night before, stayed with him in his bedroom all night, and told him that he was upset because his grandmother was “bugging” him.
“Oh my God, please, please, don’t do nothing stupid,” the man says on the call. “I think he’s shooting kids.”
But the offer arrived too late, coming just around the time that the shooting had ended and law enforcement officers killed Salvador Ramos.
Multiple federal and state investigations into the slow law enforcement response laid bare cascading problems in training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers in the South Texas city of about 15,000 people 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of San Antonio. Families of the victims have long sought accountability for the slow police response.
Brett Cross’ 10-year-old nephew, Uziyah Garcia, was among those killed. Cross, who was raising the boy as a son, was angered relatives weren’t told the records were being released and that it took so long for them to be made public.
Hearts on a banner hanging on a fence in front of Robb Elementary School. (AP/Eric Gay)
“If we thought we could get anything we wanted, we’d ask for a time machine to go back in time and save our children but we can’t, so all we are asking for is for justice, accountability and transparency, and they refuse to give this to us,” he said. “This small, simple ask that I feel that we are due.”
Two of the responding officers now face criminal charges: Former Uvalde school Police Chief Pete Arredondo and former school officer Adrian Gonzales have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of child abandonment and endangerment. A Texas state trooper in Uvalde who had been suspended was reinstated to his job earlier this month.
In an interview this week with CNN, Arredondo said he thinks he’s been “scapegoated” as the one to blame for the botched law enforcement response.
Some of the families have called for more officers to be charged and filed federal and state lawsuits against law enforcement, social media, online gaming companies, and the gun manufacturer that made the rifle the gunman used.
Just before officers finally breached the classroom, one officer can be heard on a body camera expressing concern about friendly fire.
“I’m kind of worried about blue on blue,” an officer said. “There are so many rifles in here.”
Law enforcement officials outside the Robb Elementary School following a shooting, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
The classroom breach was followed by about five to six seconds of gunfire. Officers rushed forward as someone shouted, “Watch the kids! Watch the kids! Watch the kids!”
Less than a minute into the chaos, someone shouted, “”Where’s the suspect?” Someone else immediately answered, “He’s dead!”
The police response included nearly 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents and 91 state police officials, as well as school and city police. While dozens of officers stood in the hallway trying to figure out what to do, students inside the classroom called 911 on cellphones, begging for help, and desperate parents who had gathered outside the building pleaded with officers to go in. A tactical team eventually entered the classroom and killed the shooter.
Previously released video from school cameras showed police officers, some armed with rifles and bulletproof shields, waiting in the hallway.
A report commissioned by the city, however, defended the actions of local police, saying officers showed “immeasurable strength” and “level-headed thinking” as they faced fire from the shooter and refrained from firing into a darkened classroom.
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Man found guilty of sex trafficking victim along L.A.’s Figueroa Corridor
A former Riverside County man was found guilty of sex trafficking a female victim and forcing her to engage in commercial sex acts along L.A.’s notorious Figueroa Corridor.
Elias Abdul Shabazz, 34, formerly of Perris, was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Prosecutors said Shabazz had led the victim to believe they were in a romantic relationship before he turned physically and sexually violent. He began demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts from May to October of 2021, court documents said.
He carried a handgun with him and, on occasion, was accused of using it to pistol-whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet while threatening to kill her, prosecutors said.
At trial, the victim said Shabazz demanded that she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds and that she was terrified of the consequences of not meeting that quota.
She testified that Shabazz compelled her to work in the notorious Figueroa Corridor in South L.A., a dangerous area known for human trafficking and prostitution.
Shabazz had confiscated her identification card, Social Security card and birth certificate. He constantly monitored her cell phone to stop her from communicating with any friends or family.
“He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life, including when she ate, slept and showered,” prosecutors said.
In May 2025, Shabazz was arrested and has remained in federal custody. His last known address at the time was in Washington, D.C.
On June 26, 2026, Shabazz was found guilty of one count of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6, where he faces 15 years to life in prison.
“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”
“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”
Anyone with information about human trafficking can report tips to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888
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