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Hearing set in shooting lawsuit

Julye Keeble 
Staff Writer

A hearing has been set for August in the million-dollar lawsuit filed by family members of victims of the May 24 Robb Elementary School shooting against the estate of the gunman. 

The suit proposes appointing Ramos’ mother, Adriana Martinez Reyes, as administrator of her son’s estate, at which point she would be served, as would anyone else appointed to administer the shooter’s estate.

Per paperwork filed in the 38th Judicial District Court on June 28, a hearing to consider the plaintiffs emergency motion to inspect school property, as well as other motions, is set for Aug. 12, at 1 p.m. in the courtroom at the Uvalde County Jail.

On June 17, plaintiffs filed a motion seeking to inspect school property, including an outside door at Robb Elementary School where the shooter entered, that reportedly failed to lock.

“This door in its current condition is vital to the investigation of this case. The plaintiffs have sent preservation letters to the school district asking that this door and all of its mechanisms be preserved in the condition they were in on the day of the shooting. Plaintiffs have also sent Open Records requests seeking information regarding the door, its installation and its maintenance. To date there has been no response to these letters and requests,” the June 17 filing states.

The petition states a copy was sent via certified mail to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Central office, 1000 N. Getty St., to the attention of Superintendent Hal Harrell. Tracking information indicates the certified mail was picked up at the post office on June 21 at 8:35 a.m. 

Christopher Salinas, Oscar Orona, Cristina Olivarez and Angelica Rodriguez, filed the original suit on behalf of their children against the estate of the 18-year-old who entered the school with an AR-15 style rifle, wounding dozens and killing 19 students and two teachers.

Of the four unnamed minors listed as injured in the suit, one was shot in the leg, another in the shoulder, one in the face, and the fourth was shot in the back, leg and shoulder.

The suit states each of the four children have undergone extensive medical care, and some have had multiple surgeries.

Alyssa Rodriguez and Jose Flores, parents of a 10-year-old killed at Robb, as well as Manuel Lozano, father of slain teacher Irma Garcia, and her four children were all added earlier this month as plaintiffs to the lawsuit. Garcia’s husband, Joe, also died from what is believed to be a heart attack approximately two days after his wife was killed.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Law Office of Thomas J. Henry of San Antonio, with the lawsuit is seeking over $1 million in damages.

Deposition filing

 Abel C. Lopez and Felicha N. Martinez, parents of Xavier J. Lopez, as well as Ryan A. Ramirez and Jessica D. Hernandez, parents of Alithia H. Ramirez, added their names to a suit originally filed June 2 by educator Emilia Marin seeking a deposition from firearms manufacturer Daniel Defense, based in Georgia.

 Both children were age 10 when they died after being shot by Salvador Ramos. According to reports by Texas Department of Public Safety officials, an AR-15-style rifle made by Daniel Defense was found next to the gunman’s body after he was shot inside a Robb school classroom.

This suit is also filed in the 38th Judicial District Court, and the four intervenors are represented by the Matthews and Forrester law firm out of League City.

In her petition, Marin states she is seeking facts surrounding the Daniel Defense rifle, including the way it is marketed and sold; how the gunman legally purchased the rifle; facts surrounding four Daniel Defense rifles found in the hotel room of the 2017 Las Vegas shooter who killed 60 and wounded over 400; and any pattern by the company of marketing, particularly that allegedly aimed at minors, on social media.

jkeeble@ulnnow.com, 830-278-3335