Cousin of Uvalde gunman arrested over making school shooting threat, court records say

The teenage cousin of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooter was arrested after his family told police he was trying to buy a gun and “do the same thing,” court records show.

San Antonio police took Nathan James Cruz, 17, into custody Monday on two charges of terroristic threat. Cruz, according to court records, is a cousin of the teenage gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde last year.

Officers responded to a mental health call after Cruz’s mother alerted police of violent comments he had made to his sister, an arrest affidavit obtained by local and national news outlets said. The suspect told his sister that he planned to “do the same thing” as his cousin, the New York Times reported.

Cruz denied making any threats when he was interviewed by detectives. NPR reported the suspect’s mother was concerned because her son was “intoxicated” when he made the threat and because their residence is across the street from the elementary school.

She also “overheard a phone conversation the suspect made this morning in which the suspect attempted to acquire an AR-15 through an illegal private sale,” the Times reported, citing the arrest affidavit.

Cruz faces a felony charge of making a terroristic threat to a public place and a misdemeanor charge of making a terroristic threat against a family member, according to Bexar County Central Magistrate records. His charges were set at a total bond of $160,000.

“Here a family member called police, resulting in detectives investigating the case which concluded in an arrested,” the San Antonio Police Department said Tuesday on Facebook. “With school starting, SAPD wants parents and faculty to know, that SAPD takes all reports of threats seriously and will investigate and take appropriate action.”