Ramie Grimmer, 12, died of a gunshot wound Wednesday, at a San Antonio hospital. Her mother, Rachelle Grimmer, 38, shot her in a Texas welfare office. Also shot was 10 year-old brother, Timothy Grimmer (in critical condition.) Grimmer ended the stand-off by shooting herself. Grimmer had been trying to secure food stamps for months prior to the shooting. It is believed that she intended to start a “situation” with authorities, thus arming herself before entering the welfare facility. During a seven-hour standoff with police, Ramie sent messages to her Facebook wall.
Ramie posted “may die 2day.” The Facebook page has been removed for security and investigative reasons. In its place is a dedication page to the young girl. Her postings, via mobile phone, allegedly logged the events that occurred during the stand-off. There is no public record of the messages except for the ominous posting “may die 2day.”
Rachelle Grimmer was angry when she was refused food stamps and took over the welfare office. Her former mother-in-law, Mary Lee Shepherd, described Grimmer as “having mental problems.” She stated that the woman had more “issues than trying to feed her family.”
Shepherd’s son, Dale Grimmer, was flying from his home in Montana to help the children. The two had been divorced “six or seven” years ago; stated Mary Lee Shepherd. Shepherd told authorities; “my son knew she was mentally ill and tried to get her help.”
Grimmer had failed twice to provide information on the application for food stamps. Texas Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman stated “we were still waiting and if we had that (the information Grimmer failed to provide), I don’t know if she would qualify or not.” Her case was closed for lack of communication, information and failure show up at the office in mid-August.
Before 5 pm, December 5th, Grimmer walked into the Laredo office. She asked to speak to a new caseworker. Twenty-five other people were in the main office when Grimmer and her children were taken into a private room. It was in the room that Grimmer produced the gun.
Grimmer kept hanging up on local authorities as they tried to calm her down through a series of phone calls. Laredo police investigator Joe Baeza stated that it wasn’t clear what specifically triggered the standoff. Police were waiting outside the building and entered when three shots were heard. Grimmer died instantly; the two children were in very-critical condition. Ramie died on Wednesday. Her haunting last words were viewed by friends and family via Facebook.
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