An unidentified “suspicious person” was seen scoping out Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, two months before a gunman killed 19 pupils and two teachers there, an official report said.
The report is the most detailed account so far of the actions taken both by law enforcement and the 18-year-old shooter himself.
As well as describing the day of the attack, it also examined the shooter’s life and the school’s security procedures in the months and weeks before.
On March 23, two months before the shooting, “a suspicious person dressed in all black with a backpack was seen canvasing Robb Elementary, but no one ever identified the person,” the report said.
It may never be known who that person was. That broad description, however, overlaps with the timeline and clothing habits of the attacker in a way that does not rule him out.
Some time after mid-2021, as he became increasingly withdrawn and depressed, the attacker began “wearing black clothes, combat boots and unkempt hair,” the report said.
He wore all-black for at least one of his two visits to buy weapons and ammunition, and on the day of the attack, the report said. At the gun store, his clothing gave one patron “bad vibes,” the report said.
He began to seriously plan an attack after a major argument with his mother in early 2022, the report said.
It suggests he took methodical steps. In February, around a month before the stranger was seen looking round Robb Elementary, the gunman began buying firearms accessories, the report said.
He waited until his 18th birthday on May 16 to be able to buy the guns and ammunition themselves. His search history shows he unsuccessfully tried to find a shooting range to practice with them, the report said.
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