People are thrilled in Uvalde Town Square during a prayer vigil following a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. Jordan Vonderhaar / Getty Images North America
An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults while going from classroom to classroom at a Texas elementary school, officials said, adding to a horrific series and a few years of mass killings in churches , schools and shops.
The assailant was killed by a Border Patrol officer who rushed to the school without waiting for a backup, according to a law enforcement official.
Tuesday’s robbery at Robb Elementary School in the city of Uvalde was the deadliest shooting at an American school since a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. in December 2012.
Hours after the attack, families were still waiting for news from their children. In the civic center of the village where some gathered, the silence was repeatedly broken with shouts and groans. “No! Please, no!” shouted one man as he hugged another.
“My heart is broken today,” said Hal Harrell, the school district’s superintendent. “We are a small community and we need your prayers to overcome this.”
Gov. Greg Abbott said one of the two adults killed was a teacher.
Teller: Texas Elementary School Shootout: What We Know So Far
Adolfo Cruz, a 69-year-old air-conditioning repairman, was still out of school when the sun set, looking for news of his 10-year-old granddaughter, Eliajha Cruz Torres.
He drove to the scene after receiving a terrifying call from his daughter shortly after the first reports of the shooting. He said other relatives were at the hospital and civic center.
The wait, he said, was the hardest moment of his life.
“I hope she’s alive,” Cruz said.
The attack was the last sad moment for a country marked by a series of massacres, which occurred just 10 days after a racist and deadly attack on a supermarket in Buffalo, New York. And the prospect of any reform of the nation’s arms regulations seemed as faint, if not fainter, than after the deaths of Sandy Hook.
But President Joe Biden seemed ready for a fight, calling for new gun restrictions on an address to the nation hours after the attack.
“As a nation we must ask ourselves, when in the name of God will we face the gun lobby? When in the name of God will we do what needs to be done?” Biden asked. “Why are we willing to live with this butchery?”
It was not immediately known how many people were injured, but Uvalde police chief Pete Arredondo said there were “several injuries”.
Shrouded staff members and relatives of the devastated victims could be seen crying as they left Uvalde Memorial Hospital, which said 13 children were taken there. Another hospital reported that a 66-year-old woman was in critical condition.
Officials did not immediately disclose the motive, but identified the assailant as Salvador Ramos, a resident of the community about 135 miles west of San Antonio. Law enforcement said he acted alone.
Uvalde, home to about 16,000 people, is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from the Mexican border. Robb Elementary, which has about 600 second-, third-, and fourth-grade students, is located in a mostly residential neighborhood of modest homes.
The attack took place when the school was counting down to the last days of the school year with a series of themed days. Tuesday was supposed to be “Footloose and Fancy,” with students in nice outfits.
Ramos had hinted on social media that an attack could come, according to state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who said he had been informed by state police. He noted that the gunman “suggested that children should be cared for” and that he had bought two “assault weapons” after turning 18.
Before going to school, Ramos shot his grandmother, Gutiérrez said.
Other officials said the grandmother survived and was being treated, although her condition was unknown.
Investigators believe Ramos posted photos on Instagram of two weapons he used in the shooting and were examining whether he made statements online during the hours leading up to the assault, a law enforcement official said.
Law enforcement officers were delivering several search warrants Tuesday night and collecting phone and other records, the official said. Investigators also tried to contact Ramos’ relatives and track down the firearms.
The officer was unable to discuss the details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Mass shooting scene:
Robb Elementary School
Mass shooting scene:
Robb Elementary School
THE BALLOON AND THE MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN; OPENTREET-
COLLABORATOR MAP
THE BALLOON AND THE MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN; OPENTREET-
COLLABORATOR MAP
Mass shooting scene:
Robb Elementary School
THE BALLOON AND THE MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN; OPENTREET-
COLLABORATOR MAP
Mass shooting scene:
Robb Elementary School
THE BALLOON AND THE MAIL, SOURCE: TILEZEN; OPENSTREETMAP COLLABORATORS
The attack began around 11:30 a.m., when the gunman crashed his car outside the school and crashed into the building, according to Travis Considine, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety. A neighbor who heard the crash called 911 and two local police officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter.
Both officers were shot. It was not immediately clear where the confrontation took place on campus or how long it took for more authorities to arrive at the scene.
A Border Patrol officer who was working nearby when the shooting began rushed to the school without waiting for a backup and shot and killed the gunman, who was behind a barricade, according to an official of the order that he spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do so. Talk about it.
The officer was injured but was able to leave the school, the law enforcement official said.
Meanwhile, teams of Border Patrol agents rushed to the school, including 10 to 15 members of a SWAT-like tactical and counterterrorism unit, said Jason Owens, a senior regional Border Patrol official.
He said some area agents have children at Robb Elementary.
“Everyone came home,” he said.
Condolences were received from leaders around the world. Pope Francis called for it to say “enough is enough” for the indiscriminate arms trade! ” Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who is at war with Russia after the Moscow invasion, said his nation also knows “the pain of losing innocent young lives.”
The Uvalde tragedy was the deadliest school shooting in Texas history and has been added to a serious story in the state, which has been the site of some of the deadliest shootings in the United States in the last five years. years.
In 2018, a gunman shot dead 10 people at Santa Fe High School in the Houston area. A year earlier, a gunman in a Texas church killed more than two dozen people during a Sunday service in the small town of Sutherland Springs. In 2019, another gunman at a Walmart in El Paso killed 23 people in a racist attack on Hispanics.
The shooting came days before the annual National Rifle Association convention in Houston began. Abbott and the two U.S. senators from Texas were among the elected Republican officials who were the scheduled speakers at a Friday-led leadership forum sponsored by the NRA.
In the years since Sandy Hook, the arms control debate in Congress has grown and diminished. Legislative efforts to change U.S. weapons policy in a significant way have consistently faced Republican blockades and the influence of outside groups such as the NRA.
A year after Sandy Hook, West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania Republican Patrick J. Toomey negotiated a bipartisan proposal to expand the country’s background check system. But the measure failed in a vote in the Senate, without enough support to overcome a 60-vote hurdle.
Last year, the House passed two bills to expand background checks on gun purchases. An invoice would have closed a loophole for private and online sales. The other would have extended the background review period. Both languished in the 50-50 Senate, where Democrats need at least 10 Republican votes to overcome objections to obstructionism.
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A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center on Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. William Luther / The Associated Press
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Law enforcement guards the scene of a shooting at Robb d’Uvalde primary school.MARCO BELLO / Reuters
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A woman reacts outside the Willie Willie Civic Center in Leon, where students were transported from Robb Elementary School after a shooting in Uvalde, Texas.MARCO BELLO / Reuters
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People are reacting outside the Siege Willie Civic Center in Leon, where students were transported from Robb Elementary School after a shooting in Uvalde, Texas.MARCO BELLO / Reuters
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People gather in front of the SSGT Willie de Leon Civic Center in Uvalde, Texas, as they wait to reunite with the students. Christopher Lee / The New York Times News Service
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The US flag at the White House is half-masted in Washington DC as a sign of respect for the victims of the shooting. STEFANI REYNOLDS / AFP / Getty Images
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A class / teacher board is displayed outside Ssgt Willie of Leon Civic Center, where students had been transported from Robb Elementary School to be picked up after a suspicious shooting in Uvalde, Texas.MARCO BELLO / Reuters
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Children board a school bus while police guard the scene of an alleged shooting near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.