The mother of the gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers in Texas this week has claimed that her son was not "a violent person".
In an interview with DailyMail.com, Adriana Reyes spoke about her relationship with her 18-year-old son Salvador Ramos, who opened fire on children at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday morning.
She spoke from the bedside of Ramos' grandmother Celia Gonzales, who is recovering after he shot her in the face before storming the school in Uvalde.
Ramos reportedly bought two AR-14 assault rifles and bragged about them on social media in the days leading up to his horrific attack. Despite this, the teenager's mom claimed that he had never shown a tendency towards violence.
"My son wasn't a violent person. I'm surprised by what he did," she said, adding that: "He kept to himself," and "he didn't have many friends."
Reyes went on to dismiss claims she had fallen out with her son, saying: "I had a good relationship with him."
She also expressed remorse on behalf of her son's victims. "I pray for those families. I'm praying for all of those innocent children, yes I am. They [the children] had no part in this."
Reyes is not the first of Ramos' family members to speak out since the devastating killing spree. His 74-year-old grandfather Rolando Reyes told ABC News yesterday that the attack came as a shock to him too, adding that he was not aware his grandson had bought lethal weapons.
"I didn't know he had weapons. If I'd have known, I would have reported it," he said.
Like Ramos' mother, his grandfather described him as a reserved teenager, saying: "He was very quiet, he didn't talk very much."
"Sometimes I'd take him to work with me. Not all the time, but sometimes. This past year he didn't go to school. He didn't graduate. You would try to tell him but kids nowadays they think they know everything," he added.
Reyes also told reporters that Ramos lived with himself and Gonzalez because he and his mother had "problems".
