Case Closed Against Uvalde School Shooter’s Teenage Cousin For Allegedly Threatening To Shoot Up School

Editor’s Note: (06/27/24) Since this story was published in August 2023, the case against Nathan James Cruz has been dismissed due to a missing witness, according to Bexar County, Texas, court records.

CNN
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The teenage cousin of the gunman responsible for the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was arrested Monday on suspicion of threatening to “do the same thing” to a school, according to court documents obtained by CNN.

Nathan James Cruz, 17, was arrested on felony charges of making a terroristic threat to a public place and misdemeanor charges of making a terroristic threat to a family member, according to Bexar County Central Magistrate records.

Cruz is the cousin of Salvador Ramos, the 18-year-old who fatally shot 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in May 2022, San Antonio Police Sergeant Washington Moscoso told The New York Times on Monday.

CNN has reached out to San Antonio police for comment.

Last year, Ramos stormed into Robb Elementary School armed with an assault rifle and a tactical vest and opened fire on two adjacent classrooms, committing one of the deadliest school shootings in modern U.S. history. The response by law enforcement was closely scrutinized, with officers waiting outside the classrooms for more than an hour before entering and shooting Ramos.

Cruz’s mother contacted police Monday after her daughter reported that Cruz said he planned to “do the same thing” as his cousin, according to a sworn affidavit obtained by CNN.

His mother told investigators she was “particularly concerned because the suspect is currently on probation, was intoxicated at the time of the incident” and because the family lives across the street from an elementary school, the affidavit said.

Cruz’s sister told investigators that while she was driving her brother, he “threatened to shoot her in the head and said he would ‘shoot up the school,'” according to the affidavit.

The mother allegedly overheard a phone conversation in which Cruz attempted to illegally acquire an AR-15 assault rifle — the same model Ramos used in the Uvalde shooting, according to the affidavit.

After his arrest, Cruz “denied making any threats” when questioned by a detective, the document states.

CNN could not confirm whether Cruz has an attorney. According to court documents, the charges against him carry a $160,000 bail.