The father of the 18-year-old who opened fire at a Texas elementary school this week — killing 19 students and two teachers — says he’s sorry for “what my son did.”

Salvador Ramos, 42 — who has the same name as his teen son — told The Daily Beast that he “never expected my son to do something like that.”

“He should’ve just killed me, you know, instead of doing something like that to someone,” he said

The elder Ramos lives in Hondo, about 40 miles east of Uvalde, where the shooting took place. He told the Daily Beast he hadn’t spent much time with his son of late because he works digging holes around utility poles for inspection and because of the coronavirus pandemic. His own mother has cancer, he said, and couldn’t risk being exposed.

The younger Ramos was supposed to graduate high school this year, he said. As CrimeOnline previously reported, the teen shot his 66-year-old grandmother in the face just before the school shooting — reportedly while they were arguing because he wasn’t going to graduate, according to a neighbor.

The grandmother, Celia Martinez, is in serious condition in a hospital in San Antonio.

“He dropped out because he said they were bullying him at school because of his clothes,” the elder Ramos said, adding that his son was “a good person.” “He was a quiet person, stuck to himself. He didn’t bother nobody. People were always bothering him.”

But, he said, “I just want people to know I’m sorry, man, [for] what my son did.”

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.