SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio teenager related to the Uvalde mass shooter, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was arrested Monday after relatives reported him to police, alleging he was threatening to carry out a similar attack, according to arrest documents.
Officers with the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) were contacted by the mother of the suspect, 17-year-old Nathan Cruz. The affidavit states his mother told police the teen was intoxicated at the time he made the threats and that she overheard Cruz trying to buy an AR-15 rifle "through an illegal private sale."
The mother also said she "believed that the threat to the school was credible due to the recent history of their family and the suspect's knowledge of his cousin's actions," the affidavit states. SAPD confirmed the teen is the cousin of Ramos, who entered a Robb Elementary School classroom on May 24, 2022, and killed 19 children and two teachers. Ramos was eventually killed by law enforcement.
Cruz was arrested on charges of making terroristic threats against family and in a public place this week, but he "denied making any threats" when taken into custody by police, the affidavit states. He is also accused of threatening to shoot his 20-year-old sister and of saying he'd "shoot the school."
The affidavit states the family's west-side home is across the street from a local school; the arrest was made at a home across the street from Gardendale Elementary School, a school in the Edgewood ISD system that isn't in session until next week. Principal Manuela Haberer said Monday in a letter to parents that staff were aware of the arrest, adding that district and city police told them law enforcement "did not know of any threats to Gardendale" specifically.
>Read the full letter from Haberer below:
Cruz is being held on a $160,000 bond, and has an initial court appearance set for Sept. 5.
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