Uvalde gunman regularly threatened teenage girls online prior to the massacre
Online, young people met the gunman and claimed he threatened to kill, kidnap, or rape them. They said that their reports were ignored, and that his angry misogyny was simply “how online it is”.
He could use cryptic, frightening, and demeaning words to send angry photos and messages about guns. He would sometimes threaten to rape, kidnap or kill them if they did not respond in the way he desired. The joke was then dismissed as a big laugh.
However, the Salvador Ramos online girls and young ladies who spoke with him online months before he killed 19 children at an elementary school in Uvalde in Texas rarely reported him. Many said that his threats were too vague in interviews with The Washington Post. One teenager who reported Ramos via the social media app Yubo claimed that nothing had happened.
Many suspected that this was how teenage boys talk on the Internet these day – a mix of rage, misogyny and so predictable that they couldn’t tell which one apart. A girl shared moments with him when he was creepy or threatening.
Many have wondered what could be done to make the aftermath of the worst school shooting in a decade more peaceful.
These threats were not discovered by teachers, parents, or friends. These threats had been discovered by strangers who had not met the teenager and found him through social messaging and video app.
The Washington Post examined videos, posts, and text messages sent to Ramos by four young people. They spoke on condition of anonymity in fear of harassment. The Post spoke to girls from all over the globe. However, they met Ramos via Yubo, an app that combines live-streaming with social networking. The app is now known as “Tinder for teens” and has been downloaded more 18 million times in the U.S. according to Sensor Tower.
Yubo allows people to meet up in large, real-time chatrooms called panels.
They can talk, send messages, and share videos. It’s like a virtual hangout. Ramos began to have side conversations with them, and he followed them on other platforms like Instagram, where he could send them direct messages whenever he liked.
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