A nine-year-old boy who survived the Uvalde mass shooting has described seeing the gunman’s face staring through a classroom window as he hunted victims inside the elementary school.
Daniel, whose cousin Ellie Garcia was one of the 21 victims killed in the mass shooting, told CNN that he hid under a table before climbing through a broken window to safety.
The nine-year-old said that his teacher locked the door to their classroom after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School and opened fire on the students and staff inside.
When Ramos was unable to get through the locked door, the little boy said the gunman fired multiple shots into the classroom, striking his teacher and one of his fellow students.
Daniel said he was “hiding under a table next to the wall” and could see the gunman’s face as he peered through the window into the door of the classroom.
“I could still see his face,” he said. “I could see him staring at people in front of me.”
Daniel, who spoke alongside his mother Briana Ruiz, said his wounded teacher managed to contact 911.
He and his fellow classmates then managed to clamber through a broken window to flee the school, cutting his hands on the broken glass on the way out.
Harrowing footage, obtained by GMA, shows young children climbing out of classroom windows and running away from the school into the arms of officers and first responders on the scene.
While everyone in Daniel’s class survived – with both his teacher and fellow student who were shot suffering non-life-threatening injuries – as the gunman couldn’t enter the classroom, Ramos barricaded himself in another room and opened fire, killing 21.
In total, 19 students aged between nine and 11 and two heroic teachers were shot and killed.
Daniel’s cousin Ellie was less than two weeks away from celebrating her 10th birthday on 4 June.
Instead, she will be laid to rest two days later on 6 June.
The little girl was described by her family as a happy child who loved TikTok dances, basketball and playing with her family, friends and dog Rocco.
Ramos bought two semi-automatic firearms in the days after his 18th birthday on 16 May, before carrying out one of the worst mass shootings in American history.
Last Tuesday, he shot his grandmother in the face before driving towards Robb Elementary School in the family’s truck.
He abandoned the vehicle in a ditch close to the school and entered the building through a door that was propped open.
He was finally shot dead by Border Patrol agents after officials stormed the classroom.
The Justice Department has launched a probe into the handling of the situation after local officials admitted that critical mistakes were made.
Officers on the scene hung back, taking a staggering 77 minutes to enter the barricaded classroom while gunshots continued to ring out and desperate children trapped inside called 911 begging for help.
The school shooting has also reignited calls to introduce gun reform legislation in the US including from the family members now grieving the deaths of their small children.
Jessie Rodriguez, whose daughter Annabell was killed in the massacre, told The Independent he doesn’t understand why anyone should be able to buy an AR-15.
“Assault rifles shouldn’t be sold at all, period,” he said.
“We understand having an assault rifle for the military; not personal use. Not to gun down our children … all the children gunned down like they were animals.
“There’s no justice in selling a kid an assault rifle and especially that amount of clips and bullets. It’s unbelievable.”
State Senate Democrats are demanding “common sense” gun laws in the state while governor candidate Beto O’Rourke confronted Texas Governor Gregg Abbott in a press conference saying that he was “doing nothing” and that the shooting was “totally predictable”.
Meanwhile, state Republicans are already refusing to introduce new measures, claiming that the answer instead lies in arming more teachers and increasing mental health resources.
Several even ploughed ahead with appearances at the NRA convention in spite of the week’s events.
