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RV where Rachelle Grimmer lived with two children. The RV has cracks in the wall that let in the elements. Photo: San Antonio Express-News, Jason Buch
A 12-year-old girl whose mother shot and critically wounded her before killing herself made several cryptic posts on Facebookduring a nearly seven-hour hostage ordeal at the Texas Department of Health and Human Services office in Laredo.
“May die 2day,” Ramie Marie Grimmer wrote on Facebook at 7:50 p.m. during the Monday night standoff.
“i’m here for you guys. No reason to be afraid,” Nancy Harrop, who the girl listed as her grandmother, replied.
“Im bored,” came at 10:34 p.m.
Eighteen minutes later: “ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhahhhhhhhh.”
And finally, at 11:28 p.m.: “tear gas …”
Rachelle Grimmer, 38, pulled a gun on the welfare office supervisor, Roberto Reyes, and her two children out of her frustration at being denied food stamps. The office’s other employees were able to safely evacuate the building, according to the San Antonio Express.
A SWAT team surrounded the building, and officers communicated with Grimmer throughout the ordeal. But at midnight — shortly after Grimmer hung up on police — three shots were fired, causing the police to storm the building.
Rest In Peace: 12 Year Old Ramie Grimmer
Rachelle Grimmer was pronounced dead at the scene, while Ramie and her brother, Timothy, 10, suffered critical head wounds and were transported to University Hospital in San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Express.
Grimmer’s outburst was reportedly triggered after years of getting rejected for state assistance in various states, the newspaper reported.The family had recently moved to Texas from Ohio.
Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, told ABCNews.com that Grimmer hadn’t been rejected. She had just received a notice that her case was closed, since she did not provide all of the necessary documentation during the department’s 30-day time frame.
Video | News | Weather | Sports“The children went barefoot to accompany her. They went four times, and four times she was denied. She was desperate, because she had nothing to feed her children,” neighbor Oscar Luis Cuellar told the Laredo Sun. Goodman said employees at the Laredo office were struggling to cope in the aftermath of the shooting.more
Rest In Peace: 10 year old Timothy Grimmer
McALLEN, Texas — A 10-year-old son of a woman who shot her two children and then killed herself during a police standoff at a Texas welfare office died on Thursday, a day after his sister succumbed to her wounds.
Timothy Grimmer died Thursday evening at a San Antonio hospital after he was removed from life support, Laredo police investigator Joe Baeza said. His sister Ramie, 12, who authorities say was also shot by mother Rachelle Grimmer, died Wednesday night at the same hospital.
The family had been living in a rundown trailer park, and Rachelle Grimmer had been seeking food stamps since July, shortly after they moved to Texas from Ohio.
The family had been living in a rundown trailer park, and Rachelle Grimmer had been seeking food stamps since July, shortly after they moved to Texas from Ohio.
The state Health and Human Services Commission released a timeline on Thursday of its contact with Rachelle Grimmer dating back to July 7, when Grimmer submitted an application for benefits.
At that point Grimmer was told she would not qualify for “emergency benefits,” in which documentation requirements are postponed, because she said she received child support that exceeded her expenses for rent and utilities.
A caseworker interviewed Rachelle Grimmer July 22 to see if she was eligible for benefits. She was told then that she must provide documentation of her income, in this case child support.
“We closed the case on Aug. 8 because we hadn’t received proof of her income,” agency spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said in an email. “If we had that, it’s quite likely she would have been eligible for benefits.”MORE
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