Texas school shooting: Suspect's grandmother upgraded to good condition

The accused Robb Elementary School shooter appears to have sent disturbing messages -- including claims about intentions of violence at schools -- to numerous young people online in the days and weeks before the shooting, ABC News has found.

Over a dozen people told ABC News that the accused gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, sent them concerning messages across multiple social media platforms in the days leading up to the massacre.

Hours before the massacre, the gunman allegedly messaged a young girl on Instagram warning that he had a secret he wanted to tell her, according to messages reviewed by ABC News, which law enforcement sources say are part of the ongoing investigation into the shooter. He had tagged her in a photo of two guns days earlier.

In another alleged message the morning of the shooting, Ramos sent a photo of a gun laying on a bed, according to a user who shared direct messages from the suspect's alleged account with ABC News. She replied asking, “Why'd u send me a pic of a gun."

And moments before the attack, the accused gunman allegedly sent a string of messages to a young girl he met online, detailing that he had shot his grandmother and was heading to the school for his next target, according to messages reviewed by ABC News.

Another young user told ABC News the shooter was on Yubo the day before the massacre and implied something would occur the next day, the day of the shooting.

-ABC News' Will Steakin and Olivia Rubin

The Robb Elementary School gunman had a total of seven 30-round magazines with him in the classroom where the shooting took place, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News.

One 30-round magazine was in the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting and six magazines were carried on a tactical vest worn by the shooter, with the potential to hold 210 rounds.

It is unclear how many rounds were expended.

Fifteen additional loaded magazines, potentially holding 450 rounds, were found in a backpack that police said the shooter had when he exited a pickup truck that he crashed near the school.
It is unclear where this backpack was found by police or whether he had it in the classroom.

-ABC News' Jack Date, Luke Barr, Josh Margolin and Pierre Thomas

The White House announced that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday.

They will travel to Uvalde "to grieve with the community," the White House said in a statement.

-ABC News' Jon Garcia

Even though the school doors were supposed to be locked during the day, it appears the door the gunman entered through was unlocked, Victor Escalon, the Texas Department of Public Safety's regional director for south Texas, said at a press conference Thursday.

Escalon gave an updated timeline of the shooting:

After crashing his car, the gunman got out through the passenger side with a rifle and bag containing ammunition.

The suspect walked around then saw two witnesses at the funeral home across the street from where he crashed his car and opened fire on them. Neither person was struck.

While in the parking lot, the gunman fired shots at the school multiple times. The suspect then walked into the west side of the building, Escalon said.

The Uvalde Police Department and the Independent School District Police Department attempted to enter the school building four minutes later, but they heard gunfire and took rounds so they moved back, took cover and called for additional resources, Escalon said.

18:03

Texas official gives update on police response to elementary school shooting

Victor Escalon, the South Texas regional director for the state Department of Public Safety, discusses the latest updates on the shooting at Robb Elementary School.

ABCNews.com

Escalon said the officers "don’t make entry initially because of the gunfire they’re receiving. But we have officers calling for additional resources."

While they made calls to bring in backup, officers evacuated students and teachers.

Approximately an hour later, U.S. Border Patrol tactical teams arrived, made entry and shot and killed the suspect, Escalon said.

Escalon said it then became a rescue operation.