In the wake of a tragedy that left 19 children and two teachers dead, many people are still wondering why 18 year old Salvador Ramos would commit such an atrocious act. He had been shot by police following his attack on Robb Elementary School, leaving the world to wonder why he committed such an act.

In the wake of recent school shooting cases, it is important to take a step back and look at what pushed someone over the edge. In this case we find that both parents had criminal records as well as one grandmother who also had jail time in their pasts. However, there is no certainty if their domestic life led to his actions.

The shooter’s parents had their own brushes with the law more than a decade ago. Meanwhile, His grandmother Cecilia “Sally” Martinez Gonzales was involved in an incident nearly two decades prior where she faced misdemeanor charges for assault.

Martinez’s struggle to make ends meet is a story that many people can relate to. She was charged with writing bad checks, but records show she had been struggling financially even before then, earning only $500 per month at her job and receiving public assistance in addition to what food stamps were given to them each month. Her sentence originally consisted of 180 days behind bars which were eventually reduced to probation and community service.

In 2007, Martinez was charged with assault after she allegedly caused bodily harm to a family member. However, it was dismissed and only required anger management counseling and nearly $2,000 to the County Attorney’s Office.

In 2000, Salvador Ramos Sr. was charged with resisting arrest and making a run for it. He pleaded no contest to charges that ended up sending him behind bars for 180 days in county jail. In 2011, he had a felony charge of aggravated assault, and a year later, Ramos Sr. struck a man with a beer bottle. Ramos Sr. pleaded no contest to the charge, which was dropped down to a class A misdemeanor. He had 30 days of jail time but could do it on weekends.

Sally Gonzales was originally charged with an unspecified misdemeanor after her 1993 arrest. She served probation for two years, but the records were unclear of what she did.

Gonzales is in pain after the shooting with a bullet going into her jaw, shatting her teeth. She may never be able to talk again.

“I have no words to say. I don’t know what he was thinking,” said Martinez after she and Ramos Sr. apologized for their son’s actions. “I only want the innocent children who died to forgive me. Forgive me, forgive my son. I know he had his reasons.”