Teenage Cousin of Uvalde Gunman Arrested Over Threats to a School

A 17-year-old cousin of the gunman responsible for the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was arrested after his mother reported that he was trying to buy a gun and “do the same thing,” the authorities said on Monday.

The cousin, identified as Nathan James Cruz, 17, was taken into custody on Monday morning and charged with making threats to a public place and a family member, said Sgt. Washington Moscoso of the San Antonio Police Department.

Mr. Cruz’s mother notified the authorities after learning that her son had made statements that worried her, including that he would “shoot the school,” and that “school is starting soon,” according to an affidavit filed with the arrest warrant. Detectives later determined that the threats were serious enough to merit an arrest.

The affidavit said Mr. Cruz’s mother contacted the police after her daughter told her that Mr. Cruz said he was planning “to do the same thing” as his cousin, Salvador Ramos. Mr. Ramos, an 18-year-old Uvalde resident, fatally shot 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School with an AR-15-style weapon in 2022.

Read more: New York Times