What did Nathan Cruz do? Incident explored as Uvalde school shooter's cousin arrested over mass shooting threats

Nathan Cruz, the Uvalde school shooter's 17-year-old cousin, was arrested on Monday for allegedly making terroristic threats. Cruz was reported by his mother after being accused of threatening to shoot his sister in the head.

Trigger warning: The article contains references of gun violence. Readers' discretion is advised.

A family member also claimed that they heard Nathan Cruz talking on the phone about acquiring a gun illegally. According to court documents, Cruz reportedly told his sister that he would do the same as his cousin, Salvador Ramos.

Salvador Ramos fatally shot several students at Robb Elementary School in 2022. As many as seventeen students sustained injuries as a result of the deadly shooting.

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Nathan Cruz allegedly threatened to shoot his sister in the head and that he would carry a shootout at a school

For the unversed, on May 24, 2022, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. The shooting killed about 19 students and two teachers. On Monday, August 7, Ramos' cousin Nathan Cruz was taken into custody after he threatened to carry out shootouts the way Ramos did.

A family member heard him attempt "to acquire an AR-15 through an illegal private sale” and planned to “do the same thing” (mass shooting) at a nearby school. Cruz's mother was concerned because the school was nearer to their place and her son was intoxicated and on probation.

According to San Antonio Police Sgt. Washington Moscoso:

"Here's a case where somebody's own family member was making threats. And this family member did the right thing, made the right choice, called the police."

Jesse Rizo, whose niece died in the Uvalde shooting last year, stated that Cruz needs to rectify his behavior. Rizo further urged the public to be more vigilant and said:

"You never know. You just can’t sit back and think that it’s never going to hit your house. Because one day, unfortunately, that child that you kissed goodbye, and you told him that you love them on the way to school, they may not be coming home that evening."

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Cruz denied making any such threats regarding shooting

Nathan Cruz's sister told the cops that she was scared that her brother might as well act on his thoughts, especially after what Ramos did last year. Cruz, however, denied making any such threats when he was questioned by investigators.

Brett Cross, who lost his son, Uziyah Garcia, in the 2022 school shooting, recalled the terrors that the family went through last year.

"It's hard enough as it is to send our remaining children to school because of, you know, reliving May 24, over and over. It's frustrating. We got lucky this time that somebody was brave enough to say something," Cross said.

KSAT tried looking into Nathan Cruz's background; however, they couldn't find any criminal charges against him. However, his family spoke to the police and allegedly confirmed that he was on probation. It could possibly happen that he faced charges when he was a minor.

The 17-year-old boy is facing two terroristic threat charges. Cruz was being held in the Bexar County Jail on a $160,000 bond. His first court appearance has been scheduled for September 5.