- The Uvalde gunman asked a young relative about his school before the mass shooting, per DailyMail.com.
- The boy, a third-grader, attended Robb Elementary, which the gunman went on to attack.
- The gunman asked for details like when lunchtime was, the boy's mother said.
The gunman who killed at least 19 students and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, asked a young relative for information about the school he attacked one week before the mass shooting, according to a cousin.
Shelby Celeste Salazar told DailyMail.com that the 18-year-old gunman asked her son, a third-grade student at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which school he attended and when students typically went for lunch.
"At the time I didn't think anything of it, they had a good relationship," Salazar told the outlet. "They are second cousins."
She said the two were "so close," which she said made the massacre more shocking to her.
Salazar said the questions about meal times, his grade, and his school did not alarm her. She told DailyMail.com: "I mean you don't just assume someone will do something like this, you know?"
The gunman was living with Salazar, her children, and their grandmother.
He shot the grandmother, Celia Gonzalez, in the face just before the attack. She survived and was recovering in the hospital after the attack.
The gunman opened attacked Robb Elementary on Tuesday with an AR-15 rifle. He attacked a fourth-grade class, meaning Salazar's child in third grade did not end up being a target.
Salazar told DailyMail.com that she didn't know whether the gunman deliberately avoided targeting his relative at the school.
Police in Uvalde have faced intense criticism in the days since the massacre, focused on their decision to wait for heavily-armed backup before confronting the shooter. The delay lasted more than an hour.
Officials in Texas have since admitted the decision was wrong.
Details are still emerging about how the gunman came to attack the school. Insider reported that several individuals have come forward to say he shared his plans for the elementary school shooting online.
According to The New York Times, the gunman alarmed his peers and those he had met online in the weeks leading up to the shooting. A freshman at Uvalde High School said he was "scared" after he saw the gunman post a picture of two black rifles on his Instagram story.