Celia “Sally” Gonzales, grandmother of Uvlade Shooter, fighting stigma of relation to shooter

As the grandmother of the Uvalde school shooter recovers in the hospital from a gunshot wound to the face, her family continues to fight the stigma they say has led to a muted showing of support over the past month.

From comments on social media to the comparatively low amount of money raised on her GoFundMe page, they feel a cloud hangs over Celia “Sally” Gonzales, 66, due to the fact the shooter was her grandson.

"We don't want to be known as the family of a shooter," says Gonzales's granddaughter Shelby Salazar. "We are the family of a victim. Of a survivor. She survived."

Gonzales was inside her Uvalde home the morning of May 24 when her grandson Salvador Ramos, 18, shot her in the face and stole her truck. While Gonzales clung to life, Ramos drove to nearby Robb Elementary School and carried out the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.

"She was the first victim, left for dead in her home in a pool of her own blood," Salazar says. "She could not get up. She struggled to get to that door and managed by the grace of God to walk across the street and let the neighbors know what happened."

Emergency crews flew Gonzales to University Hospital, where she has been recovering ever since. "He shot her in the face, so all of this was blown," Salazar says, pointing to her lower jaw on the side of her face. "He severed the main artery that pumps blood from her heart to her brain."

Her injuries were so severe that there was no guarantee she'd make it past the first few days. "The doctors stated they didn't even know how she was alive," her granddaughter says. "She was a miracle."

Last week marked Gonzales's ninth surgery. With several more procedures still to go, her mouth is wired shut. She can't talk. She can't eat. But she is alert. "She's able to understand everybody, she's able to write and tell you what she wants to tell you."

And yet, Salazar can sense there's a stigma preventing parts of the public from viewing her grandmother the same way they do the other victims of the Uvalde shooter.

Plus, Former special agent reacts to latest details of Uvalde shooting, and What school districts are looking into to enhance security

00:00 Celia “Sally” Gonzales, grandmother of Uvlade Shooter, fighting stigma of relation to shooter
02:25 Former special agent reacts to latest details of Uvalde shooting
04:29 What school districts are looking into to enhance security
_______________
Stay up to date with our social media:

WOAI on Instagram:   / news4sa  
WOAI on Facebook:   / news4sa  
WOAI on Twitter:   / news4sa  
Subscribe to WOAI on YouTube:    / @woaivideo  

Daily News Playlist:
   • WOAI 4 San Antonio Daily News Digest  

For more information, visit https://news4sanantonio.com/


Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:

Email us: NewsDesk@news4sanantonio.com
Call the Newsroom: 210.442-6397

WOAI is a TX based station and an NBC Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today.

#WOAI #NEWS4SA #NEWS4SanAntonio #WOAI4 #SanAntonio