Grandmother of Uvalde school shooter released from hospital

The grandmother of the teenager accused of the deadly rampage at Robb Elementary School last month was finally released from the hospital Tuesday.

Salvador Ramos shot Celia “Sally” Gonzales, 66, in the face on May 24, shortly before he drove over to the Uvalde elementary school and opened fire, killing 19 students and two teachers, according to officials.

“My mom was shot in the face and left to die alone in her home by her very own grandson,” Gonzales’ daughter wrote on a GoFundMe. “It was by the grace of God that she was able to get up off the floor and walk to a neighbors home and ask for help.”

Gonzales underwent multiple surgeries at San Antonio’s University Health before she was discharged, her daughter said. Last week, she contracted an infection that put some surgeries on hold.

On the morning of May 24, 18-year-old Ramos tracked his movements in private messages on Facebook, according to Steve McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

“I’m going to shoot my grandmother,” read the first private message.

“I shot my grandmother,” read the second.

“I’m going to shoot an elementary school,” read the third.

[ The 21 ‘beautiful angels’ who lost their lives in Uvalde, Texas school shooting ]

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That afternoon, he walked into Robb Elementary School and killed 21 people while police stood outside the classroom, waiting for him to finish.

A 10-year-old girl was also released from University Health, hospital officials said Tuesday.

As the funerals wrap up and Uvalde tries to put the pieces back together again, the failed police response to the massacre hangs over the town. In the early days, McCraw and other law enforcement officials painted a picture of tough officers who tried to step in and stop Ramos. Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief who served as the commanding officer at the scene, claimed he never knew about the 911 calls coming from inside the classrooms.

Instead, the responding officers waited for a key to the door that officials now believe wasn’t even locked.

“The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering Room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children,” McCraw testified during a state Senate hearing last week.

“There is compelling evidence the law enforcement response to the attack at Robb Elementary was an abject failure and antithetical to everything we’ve learned over the last two decades since the Columbine massacre.”

Police likely would have been able to stop the gunman in three minutes if they had tried, McCraw said.