SAN ANTONIO – On Monday, the San Antonio police arrested a 17-year-old named Nathan Cruz, who was accused of making threats to carry out a shooting at a school in the area and also threatening a family member.
According to an arrest warrant obtained by KSAT Investigates, Nathan Cruz is the cousin of the Uvalde mass shooter.
The police were initially called to respond to a mental health situation after receiving information that Cruz intended to do something similar to what his cousin had done in May 2022, which was a mass shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School, resulting in the tragic death of 19 students and two teachers.
The caller, a family member of Cruz, reported to the police that they live near an elementary school and had heard Cruz saying “school is starting soon” to another family member. The warrant did not specify which school was nearby.
Additionally, the family member informed the police that she overheard Cruz attempting to acquire an AR-15 through an illegal private sale during a phone conversation with an unidentified person on Monday morning.
Following the arrest, Nathan Cruz was taken to Bexar County Jail on Monday afternoon. He now faces charges of making a terroristic threat to the public, which is a felony, and making a terroristic threat to a family member, which is a misdemeanor, according to jail records.
According to the warrant, Cruz’s family disclosed to the police that he is currently on probation. While there were no past criminal records found for him by KSAT, it is possible that previous charges may have been filed against him when he was a minor.
As of late Monday afternoon, no bond had been set for either of the charges.