FACT CHECK: Did An Off-Duty Border Patrol Officer Kill The Uvalde Gunman?

Anna Mock | Fact Check Reporter

A post shared on Facebook claims off-duty Border Patrol agent Jacob Albarado shot and killed the suspect in the Uvalde school shooting with a gun he borrowed from his barber. 

Verdict: Misleading

While Albarado did run to the school with his barber’s gun and rescued his daughter, he did not kill the suspect.

Fact Check: 

Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old male, was identified as the suspect in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas May 24 that left 19 children and two teachers dead, according to CNN. He was killed by Border Patrol agents after attempting to ambush them as they entered the classroom he was in, the outlet reported.

The Facebook post claims Albarado rushed to the school as he was getting a haircut after his wife, a 4th-grade teacher at the school, sent him a text alerting him of the active shooter.

“He borrowed his barbers gun… went into the school despite the police chief who ordered all to stand down, rescued his daughter and wife. And didn’t stop there. He continued to rescue children and kill the gunman,” the post caption reads in part.

Albarado was, in fact, about to receive a haircut when he got a text from his wife about an active shooter and ran to the school with his barber’s shotgun, according to the New York Post. Both his wife and daughter were uninjured in the attack, the outlet reported.

The claim that Albarado shot Ramos is false, however. Authorities stated members of a Border Patrol Tactical Unit shot him, according to CNN. The article does not name the officer who killed the gunman.

“I didn’t shoot the guy,” Albarado said in an interview with CBS News. “I never said I shot him.” (RELATED: Was The ‘Same Actor’ Present At The Sandy Hook Shooting And The Uvalde, Texas Shooting?)

While Albarado did not kill the gunman, he did enter the school and guide people to safety while looking for his daughter, who was locked in a restroom inside her classroom, according to CBS News.

Several instances of misinformation have circulated on social media in the wake of the shooting. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim suggesting Ramos was an illegal immigrant.

Anna Mock

Fact Check Reporter

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