Just shot grandma, will shoot up school now: Texas gunman's texts minutes before attack

The teenage gunman who killed 21 people at an elementary school in Texas had sent three private messages to a stranger on Facebook, warning about the attack.

Fifteen minutes prior to gunning down 19 children and two adults at an elementary school in Texas, the 18-year-old gunman, Salvador Ramos, had sent three private messages to a stranger about his 'plans' on Facebook. Texas Governor Greg Abbott had said he had posted thrice before the attack, but Facebook later clarified that he had sent private messages and not posts -- which has a larger audience.

In his first message, 30 minutes before the bloody carnage, he said he would shoot his grandma. His second message said, "I shot my grandmother," and the third, sent 15 minutes before the attack, said, “I’m going to shoot an elementary school,” without specific mention of any school. It was not even clear to who the messages were sent.

Hours before the attack, he also sent Instagram messages to a stranger. He had sent a cryptic message, 'I'm about to', to a stranger on Instagram. He was using an account with the username “salv8dor_", which was taken down shortly after that shooter was identified as Salvador Ramos.

The Instagram account which is believed to be of the shooter contained photos of firearms and a mirror selfie of himself. The account also shared a photo of two rifles and tagged another person in the post.

The user, @epnupues, said she did not know Ramos at all. He tagged her in the gun photo and messaged her that he “got a lil secret”. The Instagram user asked him why he tagged her in the pic of the rifles, adding that she was scared.